Simple Truth Organic Rice Rusks Baby Teething Wafers Contain ‘Dangerous’ Heavy Metals, Class Action Says

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Kroger and subsidiaries Harris Teeter and Fred Meyer have sold baby food contaminated with “dangerous levels” of toxic heavy metals, a proposed class action lawsuit alleges.

If you’re a New York resident who’s bought Simple Truth Organic Concord Grape Fruit Spread, Four Fruit Fruit Spread, Raspberry Fruit Spread, Strawberry Fruit and Grain Bars or Strawberry Fruit Spread in the last three years, let us know here.

The 27-page case claims that the grocers’ Simple Truth Organic-brand Rice Rusks Baby Teething Wafers contain elevated levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, the ingestion of which can cause various health problems in children.

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Per the suit, the defendants have prominently advertised the teething wafers as safe and healthy for young children without warning consumers that the snack contains “undesirable toxins or contaminants” that could harm a baby’s health.

The lawsuit is one of many filed in the wake of a February 2021 Congressional report that accused some of the biggest baby food manufacturers of “knowingly concealing dangerous levels of contamination” in the ingredients used in their products. The report stressed that exposure to heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury could have “severe, lasting impacts” on a baby’s health, especially in light of the fact that the metals can accumulate in the human body over time.

Exposure to these toxins can negatively impact a child’s IQ and lead to “diminished future economic productivity, and increased risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children,” the filing relays.

Per the suit, independent laboratory testing revealed that the Apple & Kale variety of the Simple Truth Organic Rice Rusks, for example, contains levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury that are “high enough to raise significant concern.”

According to the lawsuit, no reasonable consumer would have purchased the teething wafers had they known the product contained elevated levels of toxic heavy metals. There is no warning on the baby food’s label of the health risks it posed to children, the lawsuit argues, claiming the defendants’ omission of a disclaimer is “deceptive, misleading, unfair, and/or false” given the teething wafers were represented as safe.

The case looks to represent anyone who purchased the Simple Truth Organic Rice Rusks Teething Wafers in the United States for use and not resale within the past four years.

If you’re a New York resident who’s bought Simple Truth Organic Concord Grape Fruit Spread, Four Fruit Fruit Spread, Raspberry Fruit Spread, Strawberry Fruit and Grain Bars or Strawberry Fruit Spread in the last three years, let us know here.