Monterey DA agrees to settlement to improve baby formula safety

MONTEREY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni announced a settlement with Perrigo Company and two of its subsidiaries to lessen the amount of lead levels in their baby formula.

This settlement aims to improve the safety of toddler and infant formula products by setting a maximum lead level of 5-7 parts per billion for most of their products.

These levels are much lower than applicable guidance levels established for these products by U.S. regulatory authorities.

Thursday's settlement requires Perrigo to reduce levels of lead in their products, as well as follow several other terms:

• Target lead level for all Perrigo baby formula products sold in Califronia have to be 4 ppb, with a max of of 5-7 ppb, dependign on the product.
• To achieve the target level, Perrigo has to put ingredient sourcing and control systems in place.
• Additionally they must also consult with an independent food processing auditor, set internal food quality auditing practices and conduct compliance testing to ensure that its products do not exceed the max lead levels.
• If a prodcut lot goes past the maximum level and is not an outlier it cannot be sold in California.
• An investigation of the cause of the excess and work with an auditor to keep levels under the maximum must also be completed

Pacioni would like to remind everyone that lead exposure can be dangerous, especially for children whose brain and nervous systems are more sensitive to damaging effects.

Lead exposure can also lead to behavioral issues, reduced IQ, slowed body growth, hearing problems and kidney damage.

Monterey is one of 9 other counties to join in a lawsuit in 2018 against Perrigo after testing showed that its infants and toddler formula contained levels of lead that surpassed the Proposition 65 warning threshold.

"My Office is proud to have participated in this settlement because it helps ensure that manufactures of baby formula and other foods do what is necessary to avoid high levels of lead in their products- particularly when these products feed our children," Pacioni said.