Arsenic Found in Organic Baby Formula: Is It Your Brand?

Moms who feed their babies organic formula are banking on the idea that "organic" means safer from toxins. That's the whole point, really. You're buying food that's supposed to be free of pesticides and other harmful chemicals. And it's food for a baby, so moms who choose organic have those tiny, sensitive bodies in mind when they make that choice.

That's why it's so discouraging to learn that arsenic has been found in some brands of organic baby formula! Dartmouth researchers studied organic powdered baby formulas and found "dangerous amounts of arsenic" in formulas that listed brown rice syrup as a top ingredient. Not every mom can nurse, so for those who are trying to do their best with formula, this is scary news.

The formula with contaminated brown rice syrup was found to have arsenic levels up to six times the amount allowed by the FDA for drinking water. It's like the apple juice story all over again. The same team also found high levels of arsenic in brown rice syrup-sweetened cereal bars and energy bars.

Wouldn't you love to find out what brand of organic baby formula has the arsenic? Of course you would -- but the researchers are not revealing that information. ABC News found two with brown rice syrup as their primary ingredient: Baby's Only Organic Dairy Toddler Formula and Baby's Only Organic Soy Toddler Formula, both by Nature's One. But Nature's One says their brown rice syrup producer "uses qualified, world-renowned, third-party, independent lab to test arsenic levels in their organic brown rice syrup. Their testing results report undetectable amounts of arsenic at laboratory testing limits."

I don't know ... I think if I had a baby I was feeding formula, I'd be playing it safe right now and not using any with rice syrup at all -- until I found a little more information.

Does your baby's formula contain brown rice syrup? Are you worried about arsenic levels in formula?