Vermont panel reviews bill requiring testing, labeling and online disclosure of toxic heavy metals in baby food

Lawmakers on the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on April (date not specified) reviewed H536, a bill that would require manufacturers selling baby food in Vermont to test representative production aggregates for toxic heavy metals and disclose test results to consumers.

The bill, introduced in the House and reported to the Senate, defines "toxic heavy metal" to include arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury and sets testing and disclosure rules. Under the draft language discussed, manufacturers must have representative samples analyzed at an accredited laboratory at least once a month; results that exceed U.S. Food and Drug Administration action levels would trigger labeling and public disclosure requirements. The office of the attorney general would have enforcement authority through the consumer protection act.

Supporters told the committee that the measure is primarily about transparency so parents can make informed choices. Representative Mary Catherine Stone, who later testified as sponsor, said states including California, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois have passed similar laws and that manufacturers tend to apply compliance changes nationally once major states act. She described the bill as setting expectations for testing, disclosure and consumer access to results without imposing a product ban.

The draft also contains a provision to add infant formula to the coverage, but only after the attorney general verifies that at least one other jurisdiction (or two) with substantially similar laws has enacted comparable requirements; the AG may suspend application to formula if there is verified shortage in the state. Committee members asked staff and the sponsor to return with information on how this state approach differs from federal FDA standards and to schedule testimony from public-health advocates, the Department of Health, and manufacturers.

Questions from committee members focused on practical implementation: how laboratories would be accredited, whether testing would detect identifying information or only de‑identified registry data (for other bills), how QR-code links will be displayed on small jars or pouches, and whether manufacturers would apply changes nationwide or carve out state-by-state products. Representative Richard Nelson reported seeing QR codes already appearing on some products during field checks.

The committee did not record a final committee vote during this session; the bill’s sponsor reported that the measure had passed its originating committee with broad support in the House. The committee scheduled additional witnesses for a future hearing to answer operational questions about testing, labeling, supply-chain effects and the contingency mechanism for infant formula.