Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is once again urging the federal government to act, and this time it’s to protect babies and toddlers from toxic metals in baby food.
Mayes is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to act on a years-old request — one that could help prevent lead poisonings in babies.
In a new letter, Mayes and a group of attorneys general are urging the FDA to issue long-overdue guidance for finished product testing in commercial baby food.
Delaney Corcoran, a spokesperson for the AG’s office, said those incidents could have been prevented.
“Had the FDA used the authority they have to issue guidance on finished product testing years ago, as requested by her state attorney general colleagues, these recalls and lead poisonings might have been avoided,” she said.
Target pulled a line of baby food from shelves over elevated lead levels last March, and there was a massive recall of cinnamon applesauce pouches in 2023 after they sickened children across the country.
Mayes is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to step in.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Corcoran’s name.
-
The ruling by U.S. District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. on Thursday was in response to a challenge from cities and nonprofits complaining that the administration was only offering to cover 65% of the maximum benefit. -
As the federal shutdown drags on, SNAP food benefits recipients remain in limbo. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to release contingency funds to pay the benefits, but the president said he would withhold the benefits until the shutdown ends. -
The Scottsdale City Council this week once again declined to vote in favor of joining a lawsuit challenging a new state law. The measure essentially nullified a referendum in Scottsdale over a proposed development by Axon. -
Parts of Arizona are starting to see temperatures dip, but with the federal government shutdown, home heating assistance money is not available. -
The Federal Aviation Administration is forcing airlines to cut 10% of their flights at 40 of the busiest airports across the nation to reduce pressure on air traffic controllers during the ongoing government shutdown.
