On February 16, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a demand letter to HolleUSA to stop making false or misleading claims about their baby food products. The demand letter specifically alleges that HolleUSA has been offering for sale various baby foods that are marketed as having “[n]o detectable traces of heavy metals” and as being “lead free.” However, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) tested several products and found that they do, in fact, contain detectable levels of heavy metals, such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic.

The letter orders the removal of all false and misleading claims relating to the products being free of heavy metals from the website, sales materials, and virtual store fronts. It applies to both explicit statements (e.g., “lead free”) as well as any labels or graphics that imply a product is lead free (e.g., “Pb” with a line through it).

In terms of federal regulatory requirements, the FDA has not established any lead, arsenic, or cadmium limits for virtually any category of baby food products. However, the FDA’s Closer to Zero action plan, which was published in response to the February 2021 Congressional report on the level of heavy metals in baby foods, will propose action levels aimed at reducing exposure to toxic elements in foods. Notably, the levels of heavy metals that were detected by the OAG in the HolleUSA products did not exceed the EU standards, which is where the brand is based.

In a press release announcing the demand letter, Attorney General James stated that “New York parents should never have to second guess the safety of the products meant for their children. […] These false or misleading claims prey upon parents’ concerns about the continuing problem of toxic heavy metals in their children’s food, and they must end. We will continue to hold accountable any company that misrepresents its products to New York consumers.”