Parents deserve the truth about baby food—and Paxton is right to sue Gerber

Texas parents deserve baby food that matches its label, and Attorney General Ken Paxton is right to sue Gerber for failing that test. On October 14, 2026, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a lawsuit against Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA, writing: “I sued major baby food companies Gerber and Nestlé for selling baby food containing dangerous levels of arsenic and lead.

A parent cannot test a jar of cereal at the kitchen counter, so families depend on the label being true. The Texas attorney general’s release states: “Gerber told parents its food is safe, rigorously tested, and recommended by pediatricians. But Gerber's own test results showed dangerous levels of arsenic and lead.” Paxton put the principle plainly: “When a company makes promises about what parents feed their babies, I will hold it accountable to ensure those promises are kept.”¹ A label is a promise, and the state is right to enforce it.

“I sued major baby food companies Gerber and Nestlé for selling baby food containing dangerous levels of arsenic and lead.”

Gerber’s testing undercut its safety promises

Paxton’s lawsuit invokes the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act and alleges that Gerber and Nestlé misrepresented Gerber baby food as safe, pure, rigorously tested and medically recommended. From 2017 through 2019, Gerber used 67 batches of rice flour containing more than nine times the arsenic the federal government allows in bottled water. Its carrots had up to 17 times the bottled-water limit for cadmium, and its sweet potatoes had nearly 10 times the limit for lead. The office also reports that Gerber rarely tested for mercury, and for most of that time it tested selected ingredients rather than the finished food that a baby actually eats. Federal health agencies rank arsenic, lead, and mercury first, second, and third among substances posing the most significant potential threat to human health¹. A company that tests the ingredients instead of the finished meal has not checked what the baby eats.

Gerber kept selling after Alaska found arsenic

In 2021, Alaska’s state laboratory found two samples of Gerber rice cereal that exceeded the federal arsenic limit. Gerber issued no recall or warning and continued selling its products. Beech-Nut’s cereal tested lower on average, yet Beech-Nut recalled it and stopped selling infant rice cereal. The office notes that Gerber has recalled products for plastic and choking hazards, but never for heavy metals¹. The cereal stayed on the shelf.

A QR code cannot replace enforceable safety rules

Gerber now posts test results behind a QR code on its labels, but the heavy metals in the food did not change, and neither did the safety claims on the front of the package¹. Plum Organics made a stronger commitment: this settlement makes Plum the first baby food manufacturer to enter into such an agreement. The agreement was submitted to a Texas court as an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act³. Plum follows FDA guidance for testing and allowable lead levels, and where FDA has no action level for cadmium and inorganic arsenic, it adopts current EU guidance for those metals. The agreement sets an internal mercury standard for Plum’s baby-food pouches. Plum will not ship a product from a lot if testing demonstrates that the lot exceeds these applicable standards. Results for individual products will be searchable by UPC code, lot number, and/or “best by” date². A QR code lets a parent look up a number, while an enforceable limit keeps the contaminated jar off the shelf.

Every baby-food maker should meet Plum’s standard

Paxton announced his investigation into Plum and other companies in August 2025, after issuing Civil Investigative Demands to companies in the industry. Attorney General Paxton is calling on Gerber and other baby food manufacturers to follow Plum’s lead and implement strict testing and safety standards. Paxton said: “My office will continue to investigate the baby food industry to stop any company from misleading parents about the safety and quality of the products that they rely on to feed their children.”² Every baby-food maker should meet that standard: test the finished product, set limits, keep failing lots off the market, and publish results parents can find. Ask Gerber and Nestlé to meet Plum’s standard in writing, and watch the lawsuit to see whether they do.

Sources

1. Attorney General Ken Paxton Sues Major Baby Food Companies Gerber and Nestlé for Selling Baby Food Containing Dangerous Levels of Arsenic and Lead | Office of the Attorney General
2. Attorney General Ken Paxton and Plum Enter into Landmark Agreement to Ensure No Dangerous Levels of Heavy Metals in Baby Food | Office of the Attorney General
3. Plum AVC