Toxic Baby Food Lawsuit — September 2026 Update
Baby Food Heavy Metals Lawsuit: Lead, Arsenic, Autism & ADHD
Parents across the country are suing major baby food manufacturers, alleging the companies knowingly sold products contaminated with lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury — and that early-childhood exposure to those metals contributed to their children developing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
As of September 1, 2026, 483 lawsuits are pending in a consolidated federal proceeding (MDL 3101) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Thousands of additional families have retained attorneys and are awaiting filing.
If your child was regularly fed Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth’s Best, Happy Baby, Plum Organics, Parent’s Choice, or Sprout products as an infant and was later diagnosed with autism or ADHD, you may be eligible to file a claim. Scranton Law Firm offers free, confidential case reviews. Call 800-707-0707 — available 24/7, in English and Spanish.
At a glance
Quick facts about the baby food litigation
| Litigation | In re: Baby Food Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 3101 |
| Court | U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco) |
| Judge | Hon. Jacqueline Scott Corley |
| Case No. | 3:24-md-03101-JSC |
| MDL created | April 11, 2024 |
| Cases pending | 483 (as of September 1, 2026) |
| Metals at issue | Lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury |
| Injuries claimed | Autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, other neurodevelopmental disorders |
| Status | Pretrial. No trials scheduled. No settlements. Court weighing defendants’ motion for summary judgment following a February 2026 expert-evidence ruling. |
| Cost to you | None unless we recover compensation |
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What the lawsuits allege
The lawsuits claim that baby food manufacturers:
Sold products containing heavy metals at levels far above what federal agencies consider safe for drinking water — in some cases dozens or hundreds of times higher.
Knew about the contamination from their own internal testing and sold the products anyway.
Set their own internal “acceptable” limits that were far higher than any public health standard, and in some cases sold products that exceeded even those limits.
Failed to warn parents that the products contained heavy metals.
Failed to test finished products, testing only some ingredients — or not testing at all.
Parents bring claims for defective manufacturing, failure to warn, negligence, and related theories. They seek compensation for medical care, therapy, lost earning capacity, and the lifelong costs of raising a child with a serious neurodevelopmental disorder, plus punitive damages where the evidence shows the company concealed what it knew.
Companies and products named
| Company | Brand(s) |
|---|---|
| Gerber Products Company | Gerber |
| Beech-Nut Nutrition Company | Beech-Nut |
| The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. | Earth’s Best Organic |
| Nurture, Inc. | Happy Baby / Happy Family Organics |
| Campbell Soup Company | Plum Organics |
| Walmart Inc. | Parent’s Choice |
| Sprout Foods, Inc. | Sprout Organic |
| Whole Foods Market | (retailer, named in certain state-court cases) |
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Product categories most often found to be contaminated: infant rice cereal, rice-based puffs and snacks, teething biscuits, sweet potato and carrot purees, and fruit juices.
What investigators found
Congressional investigation (2021). A U.S. House Oversight Subcommittee obtained internal testing data from the major manufacturers. Its February 2021 report found ingredients and finished products with:
Note: these comparisons use federal FDA/EPA limits for bottled or drinking water. The FDA did not set a lead limit specific to baby food until January 2025 and still has no final limits for arsenic, cadmium, or mercury in most baby foods.
The subcommittee found the companies’ internal standards were far above any health-based threshold, that some companies sold products exceeding even their own internal limits, and that testing was often limited to ingredients rather than finished products. A September 2021 follow-up report concluded the companies had “knowingly” sold tainted products and called on the FDA to act.
Independent testing since
Healthy Babies Bright Futures (2019)
Independent testing of 168 baby foods found 95% contained at least one heavy metal; one in four contained all four. A 2025 follow-up found arsenic in 100% of 145 rice samples tested.
Consumer Reports (2023, 2025)
Repeated testing found Gerber, Earth’s Best, and other brands still testing high for arsenic, lead, and mercury, particularly in snacks. An October 2025 investigation with Unleaded Kids found 21 of 39 manufacturers fail to clearly disclose their heavy-metal test results.
Reuters (April 2025)
A review of 1,757 California-mandated test results from nine companies found 102 results exceeding the state’s maximum daily lead limit for children.
Why heavy metals matter for developing brains
The American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the World Health Organization all state there is no known safe level of lead exposure for children. Infants and toddlers are uniquely vulnerable: their brains are developing rapidly, they eat more food relative to body weight than adults, and their bodies absorb a higher share of the metals they ingest.
Published research has associated early-life exposure to these metals with:
Lead
Reduced IQ, attention and behavioral problems, damage to the developing central nervous system
Arsenic
Deficits in verbal, performance, and memory IQ; impaired cognitive development
Cadmium
Decreased IQ; associations with ASD and ADHD diagnoses
Mercury
Associations with autistic behaviors in preschool-age children
Plaintiffs’ claims rest on this body of research together with the companies’ own internal testing records. Defendants dispute that the exposure levels in their products caused any child’s diagnosis. In February 2026, the MDL judge ruled that most of the plaintiffs’ expert witnesses had not shown, by reliable scientific methods, that heavy metals in baby food cause autism or ADHD — a significant development discussed in the timeline below. The litigation is continuing while the parties address that ruling.
Who may qualify
You may be eligible to file a claim if:
- Your child was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, or another neurodevelopmental disorder by a qualified medical provider, and
- Your child regularly consumed baby food from one or more of the named brands (Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth’s Best, Happy Baby/Happy Family, Plum Organics, Parent’s Choice, Sprout) during infancy or early childhood — generally for a period of several months or more, and
- The consumption occurred before the diagnosis.
Cases are evaluated individually. Factors such as premature birth, birth complications, family history, or other known causes of ASD/ADHD can affect eligibility, and our team will discuss these with you during your free case review.
Deadlines. Because these claims involve injuries to children, most states — including California — pause the filing deadline until the child turns 18. In California, that generally gives an injured child until their 20th birthday to file. Deadlines vary by state and by circumstance, however, and some can be short. Do not assume you have time — contact us to confirm.
Compensation in a baby food lawsuit
No settlements or verdicts have been reached in this litigation, and no compensation is guaranteed. Any published dollar figures you may see elsewhere are speculation, not court-approved.
If the claims succeed, families may be able to recover for:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Behavioral, speech, and occupational therapy
- Special education and support services
- Home modifications and adaptive equipment
- Lost wages of parents who reduce work to provide care
- Loss of the child’s future earning capacity
- Pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life
- Punitive damages, where a manufacturer’s conduct is found to be willful
The value of any individual claim depends on the severity of the child’s condition, the documented exposure, the child’s medical and educational needs, and how the litigation develops.
Most recent first
Complete litigation timeline
Every significant development in the baby food heavy metals litigation, from today back to the first independent testing in 2019. Highlighted entries are the rulings that shaped the case.
- September 1, 2026
MDL reaches 483 pending cases. The summary judgment ruling remains pending. Cases continue to be filed, and some plaintiffs are pursuing claims in state courts.
- August 14, 2026
Before ruling on summary judgment, Judge Corley orders plaintiffs to identify every MDL case involving injuries other than autism and ADHD.
- August 3, 2026
MDL reaches 478 pending cases (494 total filed).
- July 9, 2026
Hearing on defendants’ motion for summary judgment. The court takes the motion under submission.
- July 1, 2026
MDL reaches 473 pending cases (up 23 in June).
- June 2, 2026
A new suit is filed in the Northern District of Georgia against Beech-Nut, Gerber, Hain Celestial, Plum, Campbell’s, and Walmart.
- June 1, 2026
Despite the pause, 48 new cases are filed in May; MDL reaches 450 pending cases.
- May 19, 2026
Judge Corley pauses most activity in the MDL while the parties address the expert ruling and the summary judgment motion.
- May 1, 2026
Defendants move for summary judgment, asking the court to dismiss all MDL cases in light of the expert exclusions. Hearing set for July 9, 2026. Separately, FDA testing of more than 300 infant formula samples finds the large majority uncontaminated — the litigation concerns baby food, not formula.
- April 22, 2026
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi reintroduces the Baby Food Safety Act in Congress to set federal limits on heavy metals in baby food.
- April 1–3, 2026
MDL reaches 402 pending cases. The court holds a case management conference on the path forward after the expert ruling.
- February 27, 2026
Judge Corley issues a 43-page order excluding most of the plaintiffs’ general-causation experts. The court finds that “even in an area of epidemiology marked by hundreds of studies, none has developed the data needed to support the causation conclusion Plaintiffs’ experts assert,” and that the experts relied on unrealistic assumptions about how much baby food infants consume. One expert (Dr. Shapiro) is not excluded.
- February 24, 2026
The U.S. Supreme Court decides Hain Celestial Group, Inc. v. Palmquist unanimously (opinion by Justice Sotomayor): a federal court cannot manufacture jurisdiction by wrongly dismissing a non-diverse defendant, so the Texas family’s case against Hain and Whole Foods returns to Texas state court.
- February 5, 2026
A federal appeals court rules that parents have standing to sue a baby food company for failing to disclose heavy-metal content.
- January 16, 2026
Virginia enacts a law requiring baby food manufacturers to test for heavy metals and publish results.
- January 7, 2026
FDA issues updated guidance on lead levels in foods for children under two.
- January 5, 2026
MDL opens the year with 389 pending cases (399 total filed).
- December 8–12, 2025
Judge Corley holds a week-long Daubert (Rule 702) hearing in San Francisco on whether plaintiffs’ experts may testify that heavy metals in baby food cause autism and ADHD.
- December 3, 2025
MDL reaches 345 pending cases.
- November 3, 2025
MDL reaches 279 pending cases.
- October 8, 2025
Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids report 21 of 39 baby food manufacturers fail to clearly disclose heavy-metal test results.
- October 1, 2025
MDL reaches 225 pending cases.
- August 26, 2025
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opens an investigation into Gerber and Plum Organics, issuing civil investigative demands.
- August 1, 2025
MDL reaches 211 pending cases.
- July 1, 2025
MDL reaches 180 pending cases.
- June 18, 2025
Illinois passes SB 73: monthly certified-lab testing from January 1, 2026, and public disclosure with QR codes from January 2027.
- June 1, 2025
Healthy Babies Bright Futures reports arsenic in 100% of 145 rice samples tested; more than one in four exceed the FDA’s infant rice cereal limit.
- May 2025
Publix recalls GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea baby food for potential lead contamination.
- April 23, 2025
Reuters analysis of California test data: 102 of 1,757 results exceed the state’s maximum daily lead limit for children.
- April 3, 2025
Judge Corley denies the manufacturers’ motions to dismiss, ruling that Gerber, Beech-Nut, Walmart, and others must face claims for defective manufacturing and failure to warn. References to aluminum and infant formula are struck from the master complaint.
- April 2, 2025
MDL reaches 135 cases. Judge Corley issues a scheduling order for general-causation discovery.
- March 2025
Target recalls Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree for lead; Oregon health officials later report two infants with elevated blood lead levels.
- January 31, 2025
Gerber recalls Soothe N Chew Teething Sticks for a choking hazard (not related to heavy metals).
- January 6, 2025
The FDA issues final guidance setting lead action levels for processed baby foods: 10 ppb for fruits, vegetables, mixtures, yogurts, custards and puddings, and single-ingredient meats; 20 ppb for root vegetables and dry infant cereals.
- December 2, 2024
MDL reaches 75 pending cases.
- November 23, 2024
Maryland enacts “Rudy’s Law”: mandatory testing from January 2025, public disclosure and QR codes from 2026, and a ban on selling baby food exceeding FDA limits.
- November 1, 2024
MDL reaches 52 pending cases.
- September 4, 2024
Judge Corley orders defendants to produce their heavy-metal test results from 2012–2021 and water testing data.
- June 12, 2024
The Fifth Circuit reverses the dismissal of Whole Foods from a Texas baby food case (Palmquist), holding the retailer was improperly dropped.
- May 17, 2024
Judge Corley appoints plaintiffs’ leadership: R. Brent Wisner as co-lead trial counsel, Monique Alarcon as liaison counsel, and a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.
- April 11, 2024
The JPML creates MDL No. 3101, In re: Baby Food Products Liability Litigation, consolidating 25 cases before Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley in the Northern District of California.
- January 2, 2024
Plaintiffs move the JPML to consolidate the federal baby food cases into an MDL.
- December 1, 2023
Senators led by Amy Klobuchar demand FDA action after more than 50 children suffer lead poisoning from contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches.
- October 2, 2023
California passes AB 899, the first state law requiring monthly heavy-metal testing of baby food (from January 2024) and QR-code disclosure of results on packaging (from January 2025).
- September 1, 2023
In Cantabrana, the court excludes one plaintiff expert’s opinion, effectively ending that trial; general-causation opinions are allowed to stand.
- August 1, 2023
Consumer Reports re-testing finds Gerber, Earth’s Best, and others still high in arsenic, lead, and mercury, especially in snacks.
- June 14, 2023
Food and Chemical Toxicology publishes research showing heavy-metal exposure during brain development reduces the density of memory- and learning-related dendritic spines.
- May 18, 2023
Journal of Food Composition and Analysis study: more than half of 60 fruit juices and soft drinks tested exceed drinking-water limits for at least one toxic metal.
- March 16, 2023
The Cantabrana trial is moved to October 4, 2023.
- January 5, 2023
Bloomberg Law reports the first baby food autism case (Cantabrana, Los Angeles Superior Court) is set for jury trial in May.
- 2021–2022
Personal-injury cases alleging autism and ADHD begin to be filed in state and federal courts. An early request to consolidate the federal cases into an MDL is denied by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation as premature.
- October 8, 2021
Maple Island Inc. recalls three lots of Parent’s Choice Rice Baby Cereal sold at Walmart for arsenic.
- September 29, 2021
The House Subcommittee issues a second report concluding the companies “knowingly” sold contaminated products, and calls for mandatory testing and limits.
- June 8, 2021
Beech-Nut recalls its Single Grain Rice Cereal after Alaska testing finds arsenic above the FDA’s 100 ppb limit, and exits the infant rice cereal market.
- April 8, 2021
The FDA announces its “Closer to Zero” action plan to set limits for heavy metals in foods for babies and young children.
- February–March 2021
The first consumer class actions and personal-injury lawsuits are filed against the manufacturers nationwide.
- February 4, 2021
The U.S. House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy releases Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury, based on internal documents from Gerber, Beech-Nut, Hain (Earth’s Best), and Nurture (Happy Baby). Walmart, Campbell (Plum), and Sprout refused to cooperate.
- October 2019
Healthy Babies Bright Futures publishes independent testing of 168 baby foods from 61 brands: 95% contain at least one of lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury; 26% contain all four.
We update this timeline as the litigation develops.
Baby food recalls for heavy metals
Recalls are rare relative to the scale of contamination documented by investigators, because for most metals there is still no enforceable federal limit in baby food.
| Date | Brand | Product | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 8, 2021 | Beech-Nut | Single Grain Rice Cereal | Arsenic above FDA 100 ppb limit; product line discontinued |
| Oct 8, 2021 | Parent’s Choice (Walmart) | Rice Baby Cereal, 3 lots | Arsenic |
| Oct–Nov 2023 | WanaBana, Schnucks, Weis | Cinnamon applesauce pouches | Lead (500+ children affected nationwide) |
| March 2025 | Good & Gather (Target) | Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Puree | Lead; two infants with elevated blood lead in Oregon |
| May 2025 | GreenWise (Publix) | Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea | Potential lead contamination |
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New state laws on heavy metals in baby food
At the federal level, the Baby Food Safety Act has been introduced repeatedly since 2021 (most recently April 2026) but has not become law. Four states have acted on their own:
California — AB 899 (signed Oct 2023)
Monthly testing for arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury from Jan 2024; QR-code disclosure of results on packaging from Jan 2025
Maryland — “Rudy’s Law” (Nov 2024)
Testing from Jan 2025; public disclosure and QR codes from 2026; sale prohibited above FDA limits
Illinois — SB 73 (June 2025)
Monthly certified-lab testing from Jan 2026; public disclosure and QR codes from Jan 2027
Virginia — (Jan 2026)
Testing and publication of results
Frequently asked questions
Does baby food cause autism or ADHD?
Baby food itself does not cause autism or ADHD. The lawsuits allege that heavy metals contaminating certain baby foods — lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury — are neurotoxins that can harm a developing brain, and that exposure during infancy increased the risk of these diagnoses. Autism and ADHD have many contributing factors; whether the exposure in these products was enough to cause harm is the central disputed question in the litigation.
Which companies are being sued?
Gerber, Beech-Nut, Hain Celestial (Earth’s Best), Nurture (Happy Baby / Happy Family Organics), Campbell Soup (Plum Organics), Walmart (Parent’s Choice), and Sprout Foods. Whole Foods is named as a retailer in certain state-court cases.
Are organic baby foods safer?
Not necessarily. Heavy metals enter food through the soil and water where crops are grown, so organic certification does not prevent contamination. Earth’s Best Organic, Happy Baby Organics, and Plum Organics are all named in the litigation.
Which products are the biggest concern?
Rice-based products (infant rice cereal, rice puffs, rice cakes, teething biscuits), sweet potato and carrot purees, and fruit juices have consistently shown the highest levels in testing.
My child ate these products years ago. Is it too late?
Possibly not. Because these are injuries to a child, most states pause the filing deadline until the child turns 18. In California, a child generally has until age 20 to file. Deadlines vary by state and by the facts of each case, so contact us promptly rather than assuming.
Is the litigation still active after the judge’s expert ruling?
Yes. The February 2026 ruling excluded most of the plaintiffs’ general-causation experts, and defendants have asked the court to dismiss the MDL cases. That motion is pending. Cases continue to be filed, plaintiffs’ counsel are pursuing additional expert evidence and appellate options, and some families are pursuing claims in state courts. Outcomes are uncertain and no result is guaranteed.
How many lawsuits have been filed?
483 cases were pending in MDL 3101 as of September 1, 2026, with additional cases in state courts. Leading plaintiffs’ firms report representing thousands of additional families whose cases have not yet been filed.
Has anyone received a settlement?
No. There have been no settlements, verdicts, or settlement funds in this litigation. Any dollar figures you see online are speculation.
What is an MDL?
Multidistrict litigation consolidates similar federal cases before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial rulings. Each family keeps its own individual claim; the MDL does not make it a class action.
What evidence do I need?
A medical diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, or another neurodevelopmental disorder, and evidence your child regularly ate products from the named brands — receipts, store or loyalty-program records, photos, WIC records, pediatric records, or a detailed parental account. We help you gather what is available.
What does it cost to hire Scranton Law Firm?
Nothing up front. We handle these cases on a contingency fee: you pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for your family.
Does it matter that Scranton Law Firm is in California?
The MDL is in federal court in San Francisco, and California has the nation’s strongest baby food testing law.
How Scranton Law Firm handles your case
Scranton Law Firm has represented injured Northern California families since 1973 and recovered more than $1 billion for our clients. We treat every case like family — and we speak your language, in English or Spanish.
Free case review
Call 800-707-0707 or complete the form below. We’ll ask about your child’s diagnosis, which products they ate, and when.
Records
We help you assemble medical records and proof of purchase.
Filing
If your case qualifies, we file your claim and manage every deadline.
Litigation
Your case proceeds alongside hundreds of others, benefiting from coordinated discovery and expert work, while remaining your own individual claim.
No fee unless we win
You pay no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for your family.
Free, confidential case review
Talk to a baby food lawsuit expert today
If your child was regularly fed one of the named brands and was later diagnosed with autism or ADHD, we will review your case at no cost and no obligation.
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Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This page is for informational purposes and does not create an attorney-client relationship. No settlements or verdicts have been reached in the baby food litigation and no outcome is guaranteed. Scranton Law Firm, 2450 Stanwell Dr., Concord, CA 94520.
Last updated September 9, 2026.