Toxic Pesticides Found in Target’s Baby Food

We expect the food we buy for our children to be clean, safe, and free from toxic chemicals. But scores of synthetic pesticides linked to health problems and environmental harm are allowed in non-organic agriculture in the U.S. 

We suspected that Target’s food supply chain — like other major food retailers — was heavily contaminated with toxic pesticides. So we put our suspicions to the test by investigating baby food made by Target’s house brand Good & Gather. We purchased samples of non-organic Good & Gather Baby Apple Fruit Puree and Good & Gather Baby Pear Fruit Puree from Target stores in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, and online. Then we sent them to an independent lab for testing. 

We found a cocktail of 21 different pesticides — a term that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — in Target’s baby food, including neonicotinoids. We also found metabolites from a class of neurotoxic pesticides called organophosphates. Twelve of the pesticides we found are classified as highly hazardous to the environment and/or human health and eight are banned in the European Union. See the full results.

The government’s policies are outdated and insufficient

The pesticides in Target’s baby food were detected at levels below the limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the standards set by the EPA are outdated, influenced by the powerful pesticide industry, and fail to account for the best and most recent science. Because the agency doesn’t follow the latest science, the EPA has failed to ban dozens of toxic pesticides that are outlawed in the European Union. Many scientists believe that the EPA’s standards are insufficient to protect people from the harmful impacts of pesticides in our diets. 

Small amounts of pesticides matter to children’s health

Children are more vulnerable to the harms of pesticides because their brains and bodies are developing so rapidly. Early exposure can impact children for life. The latest science is clear that small exposures to pesticides can have significant impacts and that cumulative exposure from the many pesticides found in a typical non-organic diet can add up to harm children’s health. Ten of the pesticides we found are linked to endocrine disruption. Incredibly small amounts of endocrine disrupting chemicals – the equivalent to one drop in 20 Olympic swimming pools – can alter our brain development, hormones, immune systems, and more. 

Is organic worth it? 

We all have the right to food that is free of harmful pesticides. Research shows that an organic diet rapidly and dramatically reduces our exposure to toxic pesticides. Organic farming also helps protect the farmers and farmworkers who grow our nation’s food from toxic exposures and helps regenerate the ecosystems that sustain all life. And science has shown that organic farming is regenerative and climate-smart: it uses less energy, sequesters more carbon, and improves farmers’ resilience to climate change compared to conventional farming. 

Target can help create a healthy, safe food system

With their enormous purchasing power, food retailers like Target can help create a healthy, sustainable, and just food system by offering more organic food, supporting government policies to help make organic food available for everyone, and phasing out the use of toxic pesticides in their non-organic supply chains. 

WHAT WE FOUND

Neonicotinoids

We found neonicotinoid pesticides – including acetamiprid, imidacloprid, and thiacloprid – in 100% of the baby food samples that we tested. Neonics are a class of insecticides that have been linked to potential impacts on human health, particularly on developing fetuses and children, including autism spectrum disorder, impacts to the nervous system, endocrine disruption, and congenital heart defects and neural tube defects. They are also associated with great harm to pollinators like bees; U.S. agriculture has become nearly 48x more toxic to insects since the introduction of neonics. The Environmental Protection Agency also found that they are likely driving over 200 endangered species toward extinction.

Organophosphates

The breakdown products of organophosphate pesticides, known as metabolites were found in 100% of the baby food samples, indicating significant usage of organophosphate pesticides in Target’s supply chain. Organophosphates are so toxic to children’s developing brains, even at extremely low levels of exposure, that scientists have called for a complete ban. They are associated with reduced IQ, attention disorders, delayed motor development, increased risk of learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, hormone disruption, and cancer. Organophosphates are also toxic to wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and aquatic organisms like fish.

Other insecticides and acaricides

In addition to neonicotinoids and organophosphate metabolites, we found nine other insecticides and acaricides (which target mites) in Target’s baby food. In total, there were five insecticides or acaricides classified as highly toxic to bees and three classified as highly toxic to aquatic organisms, raising serious concerns about negative impacts to biodiversity in Target’s food and beverage supply chain. 

Fungicides

We also found nine fungicides in Target’s baby food, including pyrimethanil in the apple puree for babies at an average level of 299.1 parts per billion. Pyrimethanil is a likely endocrine disruptor. 

WHY IT MATTERS

Pesticides are designed to be poisons. The properties that make them toxic to insects and weeds can also make them toxic to us. Babies are particularly vulnerable to the harms of pesticides. Their brains and bodies are developing so rapidly that small exposures can result in lifelong impacts. Children also have greater exposure to pesticides than adults because they eat more per pound of their body weight than adults. 

LEARN MORE

The most vocal advocates for a toxic-free food system are those on the frontlines of pesticide exposure: farmers, farmworkers, and other pesticide applicators who are exposed directly. The use of toxic pesticides in Target’s supply chain threatens farmer and  farmworker safety and the health of rural communities. 

LEARN MORE

The neonics and other pesticides found in Target’s baby food are damaging to the environment. Pesticides cause widespread harm to biodiversity above and belowground, including essential pollinators and the soil organisms that are at the heart of healthy soils. More than 40% of invertebrate pollinator species are facing extinction in the coming decades, in large part due to the use of toxic pesticides. Pesticides are also energy-intensive to produce, contributing to agricultural greenhouse gas emissions and fueling climate change. 

LEARN MORE

EXPLORE THE FINDINGS IN DEPTH

Good & Gather Baby Pear Fruit Puree

*See the Pesticide Action Network International List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides
**Banned in the European Union

Good & Gather Baby Apple Fruit Puree

*See the Pesticide Action Network International List of Highly Hazardous Pesticides. 
**Banned in the European Union

Methods

Lab

Lab tests were completed by The Health Research Institute. The Health Research Institute was established in 2017,and  it is a 501(c)3 non-profit laboratory which offers research, education and service. It is a High Complexity CLIA Certified clinical laboratory and an ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 Accredited analytical laboratory.

Pesticide Multiresidue Test

This analytical method uses high performance liquid chromatography, linked to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) to measure 220 of the most widely used and most egregious pesticides. UPLC-MS/MS analysis is considered the gold standard for pesticide analysis. The limit of quantitation of the method is 1 ppb (part per billion), which corresponds to detection of a 1/2 teaspoon of pesticide diluted into an Olympic swimming pool. The method that is accredited to the International Standards Agency’s ISO17025 standard, which is respected globally.

Test for Organophosphate Metabolites

This analytical method uses high performance liquid chromatography, linked to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-MS/MS) to measure the presence of metabolites of organophosphate pesticides with high sensitivity and high specificity. With this method it is possible to screen simultaneously for the full range of organophosphate pesticides in a single test. This method has a limit of quantitation of 1.0 ppb.