Beech-Nut Nutrition to Exit Single Grain Rice Cereal Baby Food, Recalls One Lot
June 09 2021 - 3:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Josh Beckerman
Beech-Nut Nutrition plans to exit the market for Beech-Nut
branded Single Grain Rice Cereal, citing concern about consistently
obtaining rice flour well below "the FDA guidance level and
Beech-Nut specifications for naturally occurring inorganic
arsenic."
Beech-Nut said it voluntarily recalled one lot of Beech-Nut
Stage 1, Single Grain Rice Cereal after routine sampling in Alaska
found that samples from the lot "tested above the guidance level
for naturally occurring inorganic arsenic set by the FDA in August
2020." The rice flour used had been tested and confirmed as being
below the FDA guidance level, the company said. No illnesses have
been reported.
Switzerland-based Hero Group owns Beech-Nut.
A February report by the House Subcommittee on Economic and
Consumer Policy said baby food brands including Nestle SA-owned
Gerber, Beech-Nut , Walmart Inc.'s store brand and several organic
brands had "dangerously high levels" of arsenic, lead, cadmium and
mercury. These heavy metals naturally occur in soil and water.
In response, Beech-Nut said "we understand the recent
Congressional Report and news stories have been unsettling to
parents," and emphasized its strict quality and safety standards
and testing. Gerber said it takes many steps to reduce heavy
metals, including "selecting growing locations based on soil
composition, testing soil and water before growing, planting and
harvesting at the right times of the year."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Closer to Zero plan
seeks to reduce exposure to toxic elements, and has said that "our
work, combined with that of our stakeholders, has led to meaningful
reductions."
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 09, 2021 15:15 ET (19:15 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Nestle (PK) (USOTC:NSRGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Nestle (PK) (USOTC:NSRGY)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024