Plum Organics has agreed to tighten its testing standards for heavy metals in baby food sold in Texas, following an investigation by the state’s attorney general into potentially unsafe levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury.
Ken Paxton said the company was the first manufacturer targeted by his office to adopt the measures. The agreement also requires Plum to improve the information available to parents about the contents of its products.
The investigation began after Plum and other US baby food manufacturers received Civil Investigative Demands from the Texas attorney general’s office in August 2025. The demands sought information about testing practices, safety standards and the marketing of products described as healthy or nutritious.
New heavy metal standards for Plum Organics baby food
Under the settlement, Plum will follow US Food and Drug Administration guidance on testing and permitted levels of lead. It will also adopt European Union guidance for cadmium and inorganic arsenic, while maintaining an internal limit of 10 parts per billion for mercury in its baby food pouches.
Products that fail to meet those thresholds will not be shipped, officials said.
Plum has also committed to continuing to publish test results online for products marketed and sold in Texas. Parents can search for results using a product’s barcode, batch number or best-before date.
The company’s published records show testing for each batch of its pouches against standards based on guidance from both the FDA and the European Union.
Small quantities of heavy metals can occur naturally in fruit and vegetables because the substances are present in soil, water and air. However, exposure to higher levels during infancy and early childhood has been associated with serious health risks, including possible harm to neurological development.
Paxton said his office would continue examining the baby food industry and urged other manufacturers, including Gerber, to adopt standards similar to those agreed by Plum Organics.
“I will not allow dangerous amounts of contaminants and heavy metals in baby food,” he said. “This is a commonsense issue, and I commend Plum for agreeing to strengthen its standards and provide parents with greater transparency about what is in these products.”
He added that the investigation would continue to determine whether companies had misled parents about the safety and quality of products sold to families.
