Heavy metals in food databaseExplainerChecked 2026.10.03

Heavy Metals in Baby Food, Infant Food, and Powdered Formula: MAFF’s Survey and Standards Abroad

Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury in 180 infant and toddler foods measured by MAFF in fiscal 2023, the EU, Codex, and US standards, and cautions about rice-based foods, organized with figures from public sources.

Short answer

In MAFF’s survey (fiscal 2023, 180 infant and toddler foods), 151 samples were below the limit of quantification for lead. The maximums were 0.054 mg/kg in dry-type products, 0.015 in powdered formula, and 0.009 in wet-type products. The maximum inorganic arsenic was 0.80 in dry-type products and 0.17 in wet-type products. MAFF judges that the amount taken from infant and toddler foods is a small share of the diet as a whole and that the need for risk management measures is low.

However, this survey does not judge compliance with Food Sanitation Act standards, and its analytical methods differ from the statutory ones. It cannot be compared directly with EU or US standards to say a product “meets” or “exceeds” them.

In what we checked, we found no food-specific standards in Japan for lead, cadmium, or inorganic arsenic in infant and toddler foods. The EU, Codex, and the US have standards for infant formula, baby food, and rice for infants and young children.

MAFF’s survey: 180 infant and toddler foods (fiscal 2023)

This survey was published on December 23, 2024. The maximum for each category is shown (mg/kg). “Dry type,” “wet type,” and the other categories are MAFF’s.

Category (samples)	Lead	Cadmium	Total arsenic	Inorganic arsenic	Total mercury
Dry type (30)	0.054	0.40	8.6	0.80	0.012
Wet type (59)	0.009	0.048	0.44	0.17	All below LOQ
Snacks and sweets (31)	0.044	0.11	0.79	0.095	All below LOQ
Drinks, ready to drink (20)	0.004	0.008	0.018	0.012	All below LOQ
Drinks, to dilute or powdered (10)	0.029	0.015	0.011	All below LOQ	All below LOQ
Infant formula, powdered (20)	0.015	0.013	0.069	0.047	All below LOQ
Infant formula, liquid (10)	All below LOQ	All below LOQ	0.005	0.004	All below LOQ

For lead, 151 of the 180 samples were below the limit of quantification. Estimating lead after preparation from powdered formula gives 0.0004–0.0010 mg/L.
Total arsenic in dry-type products averaged 0.65 with a maximum of 8.6. The published materials do not show which product had the maximum (for example, one with an ingredient such as hijiki).
MAFF states explicitly that this survey does not judge compliance with Food Sanitation Act standards and that its analytical methods differ from the statutory ones.

Japan’s standards

In what we checked, we found no food-specific standards for lead, cadmium, or inorganic arsenic in infant and toddler foods (we have not checked the individual items of the laws and regulations that set specifications for powdered formula).
Where Japan has legal standards: for cadmium, rice (0.4 mg/kg) and mineral water-type beverages (0.003 mg/L); for lead and arsenic, soft drinks (excluding mineral water-type beverages; must not be detected), mineral water-type beverages (0.05 mg/L for both lead and arsenic), and tap water (0.01 mg/L for both lead and arsenic), among others.
For arsenic in rice, we found no Japanese standard, while the EU has a standard for rice for infants and young children.

Standards abroad

Food and substance	Codex	EU (Regulation 2023/915)	US
Infant formula, lead	0.01	0.020 (powdered) / 0.010 (liquid)	—
Baby food and processed cereal-based food for infants and young children, lead	0.02	0.020	—
Infant formula, cadmium	—	0.010 (powdered) to 0.020 (soy)	—
Infant food, cadmium	—	0.040	—
Infant formula powder, inorganic arsenic	—	0.020 (powdered) / 0.010 (liquid)	—
Baby food and fruit juice, inorganic arsenic	—	0.020	—
Rice (raw material) for infants and young children, inorganic arsenic	—	0.10	Infant rice cereal 0.1 (action level, 2020)
Rice drinks, inorganic arsenic	—	0.030	—
Processed foods for infants and young children, lead	—	—	Fruits, vegetables, mixtures, yogurt, and so on 10 ppb; single-ingredient root vegetables 20 ppb; dry infant cereal 20 ppb (January 2025, guidance)

The US FDA action levels are non-binding guidance. They apply to packaged processed foods labeled for children under 2 and do not include formula, drinks, snacks, or juice.
Converting the maximums from Japan’s survey from mg/kg to ppb, lead is 9 ppb for wet type and 54 ppb for dry type. However, Japan’s survey does not judge compliance, and its food categories also differ from the FDA’s, so it cannot be said to “meet” or “exceed” them.

Rice-based foods: rice milk and rice cereal

The EU sets a standard of 0.10 mg/kg for inorganic arsenic in rice for infants and young children (lower than 0.15 for ordinary polished rice) and 0.030 mg/kg for rice drinks.
The US FDA has an action level of 100 μg/kg for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal (2020).
The UK FSA advises not giving rice milk to children under 5 in place of breast milk, formula, or cow’s milk (published 2018).
We found no public survey of inorganic arsenic in Japanese rice products (rice crackers, rice flour, and so on). Measured values for Japanese rice are in Arsenic and Cadmium in Brown and White Rice.
Japan has not set a tolerable intake for arsenic. EFSA (2024) says that for infants and young children, cereal-based foods, biscuits, and the like are the main sources of exposure.

Powdered formula and the Morinaga arsenic milk poisoning

In the 1955 Morinaga arsenic milk poisoning, the disodium phosphate added to powdered milk at the Tokushima factory was about 10% inorganic arsenic. About 12,000 infants were poisoned, and 133 are said to have died (Food Safety Commission assessment).
As a result, on December 28, 1959, the standards and specifications for foods, additives, and the like (Ministry of Health and Welfare Notification No. 370) were established, and arsenic regulation began.
In follow-up studies of victims, 5,064 people (1982–2004) had 1.3 times the expected deaths from all causes and 5.4 times for the central nervous system, but one report says the excess in all-cause deaths disappears from middle age onward. We avoid mixing these with the numbers from a separate analysis (6,104 people, 1982–2006).
Measured values for today’s powdered formula are in MAFF’s survey above (powdered formula: maximum lead 0.015, maximum inorganic arsenic 0.047 mg/kg). They cannot be lined up against the EU standards for powdered formula (lead 0.020, inorganic arsenic 0.020) because the purpose and analytical methods of the survey differ.

Water for preparing formula, and what you can do at home

The water quality standard for lead in tap water is 0.01 mg/L. The Food Safety Commission advises that, until lead water supply pipes are replaced, the first water drawn in the morning and water after a long absence should be used for purposes other than drinking (a guide is 10–15 L). 1.92 million lead service pipes remain nationwide (fiscal 2023, MLIT).
Rice: rinsing white rice reduces inorganic arsenic by about 20%, but rinsing barely reduces it in brown rice (MAFF). Cadmium barely changes with rinsing.
Hijiki: in what we checked, we found no specific national guidance for infants and young children. Tests of cooking methods that reduce arsenic are in Should You Avoid Hijiki?
The Food Safety Commission advises, for both lead and arsenic, a balanced diet that does not rely on particular foods.

Sources

Last checked 2026.10.03 (against the original government documents and papers, collected and cross-checked in Gemini Notebook).

Heavy metals occur naturally in soil and the sea, and every food contains small amounts. This page lists facts from government surveys, limits and assessments and from published papers; it does not judge any food as good or bad. Where there is official advice — such as on eating fish during pregnancy — follow it.

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