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House passes bill requiring disclosure on heavy metals in baby food and formula
Summary
The Vermont House approved H.536, which requires labeling and reporting about toxic heavy metals in baby food products and includes amended language covering infant formula reporting triggers; members debated industry concerns about timing ahead of anticipated federal FDA action.
The Vermont House approved H.536, an act relating to toxic heavy metals in baby food products, after floor debate about including infant formula and how state action should align with federal work.
The measure, as amended, requires manufacturers to provide testing information so parents can access levels of lead, cadmium, mercury and similar contaminants in baby foods and, as amended on the floor, includes provisions covering infant formula tied to federal triggers. The Chair of the Agriculture Committee said the amendment includes population-based triggers so Vermont will not be the first state to impose new standards, and that the committee crafted the language to address industry concerns about premature regulation.
Lawmakers described testimony the committee received: some baby-food manufacturers did not object to reporting; infant-formula manufacturers and trade groups raised concerns about federal work underway. One member read portions of a letter the House received from Perrigo, a manufacturer with a plant in Georgia, Vt., urging the body to wait for a forthcoming federal report from the Department of Health and Human Services and planned FDA action. The letter noted the FDA intends to publish a report on cadmium, mercury and lead in infant formula in April 2026.
Several members shared personal and policy arguments. A member recounted struggles during the 2022–23 infant-formula shortage to explain urgency about food safety and transparency for parents. Others argued inclusion of formula is important because parents rely solely on formula in early months and deserve access to testing data; several floor speakers said the bill aims to inform choices rather than ban products.
A member who reported receiving the Perrigo letter said the company requested a pause until federal action; another member expressed confidence that the Senate would further refine the measure if needed. A member who cited local reporting said Perrigo plans to close its Georgia, Vt., manufacturing facility in 2027, a point one speaker used to argue against delaying the bill.
The House took a voice vote and the presiding officer announced the ayes had it; the transcript records a voice vote without a recorded numerical tally.
The bill will now proceed to the next step in the legislative process.
