Maryland lawmakers push bill after baby food exposed child to lead
CALVERT COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Maryland lawmakers are looking at ways to create safer baby foods, after learning a lot products contain toxic chemicals that could cause lead poisoning.
That’s what happened do 18-month-old Rudy Callahan when he went to his one year doctor’s appointment for lead testing. The doctor discovered his lead levels were extremely high.
“The state of Maryland Health Department called and said, ‘hey, your son has high lead levels and we need to get to the bottom of this,'” Sarah Callahan said.
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After a lot of professional testing within home, and an X-ray test on Rudy Callahan, nobody could figure out how the toddler was exposed. In October 2023, Sarah Callahan and her husband learned the FDA issued a recall for the cinnamon apple sauce pouches because it had 2,000 times the safety limit for lead.
“It says that it’s 100% fruit. It says it’s organic. It says kosher, gluten free. So saying all the right things,” Sarah Callahan said. “For it to have lead in it and us not have any idea, giving it to him, like it just made us feel like we weren’t doing the best that we could, but we had no idea.”
Doctors realized that Rudy Callahan’s lead exposure is causing developmental delays in the toddler’s speech.
“It’s really sad and unfortunate because lead poisoning is something that is 100% preventable, and for him to have been exposed is senseless. It’s infuriating. I feel very angry,” the mother said.
She said her son’s lead exposure has caused behavioral problems.
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“We’re often left wondering like, is this a growth and development normal toddler temper tantrum or it is his behavior linked to his lead poisoning?” she said.
Rudy Callahan’s story is one of the reasons Maryland Del. Deni Taveras proposed “Rudy’s law.”
“We found a lot of food that unfortunately, does contain arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury and those are sudden, really bad chemicals,” the lawmaker said.
It requires baby food companies to test products for toxic heavy metals monthly before it hits the shelves. They also have to place a QR code on the packaging showing the results, so parents can scan it and know what their child is consuming.
“What matters to me is that we put out a safe product for children,” Taveras said.
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The bill currently sits in the House awaiting review.
Sarah Callahan and her husband believes if Rudy’s Law passes, parents and their children will be so much safer.
“I think that it’ll allow other families in Maryland to not have a similar experience to ours and if we can help families and move past this experience,” she said.
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