What are current FDA and EFSA regulatory limits or action plans for cadmium in infant foods and cereals?

1. FDA’s current stance: lead limits finalized, cadmium still in the pipeline

The FDA has finalized action levels for lead in a range of processed foods intended for babies and young children and has operationalized those limits for categories such as single‑ingredient root vegetables and dry infant cereals—where lead was capped at 20 parts per billion for certain categories—while other categories received 10 ppb limits; these actions are publicized as part of the agency’s Closer to Zero strategy ^{[5] [6] [7] [8]}. Importantly for cadmium, the FDA’s recent public materials and industry guidance emphasize that the agency recognizes cadmium as a concern and has a timetable to evaluate data and set action levels for arsenic, cadmium and mercury, but the agency has not published finalized numeric action levels for cadmium in infant foods or cereals in the sources provided ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

2. What the FDA documents say about cadmium timing, testing, and enforceability

FDA guidance and reporting show the agency plans an iterative, multiyear process to review exposure data, refine analytical methods, and then propose science‑based limits for cadmium among other heavy metals under Closer to Zero; draft proposals and interim reference levels for cadmium were discussed publicly as possibilities in earlier webinars, but action levels for cadmium remained to be proposed or finalized as of the materials cited ^{[9] [10] [1]}. The FDA’s action levels are guidance (not direct statutory limits) that inform enforcement and import decisions and rely on sampling programs such as the Toxic Elements Program; the agency also reports analytical capability to measure cadmium and other elements to low parts‑per‑billion concentrations using its Elemental Analysis Manual ^{[10] [3]}.

3. EFSA’s role: lowering tolerable intake and driving stricter EU risk benchmarks

EFSA has re‑evaluated cadmium and set a lower tolerable intake level for cadmium in food, an action that reduces the amount of cadmium considered acceptable over time and increases pressure on member states and industry to limit cadmium in diets, including for vulnerable groups such as infants ^[4]. The supplied literature notes EFSA’s lower tolerable intake but does not provide a specific EU maximum limit for cadmium in infant foods or cereals in these excerpts; EFSA’s lowered reference value functions as a health-based benchmark that can trigger maximum levels or guidance at the EU or national level ^[4].

4. Evidence, limits, and the gaps that matter to regulators and consumers

Peer‑reviewed reviews and risk assessments cited in the reporting show measurable cadmium in baby foods and formulas worldwide and mixed compliance with some international limits, but they also underline data gaps and variability by food type and geography; some studies found a minority of samples exceeded existing WHO or FDA comparative limits under high‑consumption scenarios ^{[4] [11]}. Advocates and watchdog groups argue the FDA should expedite numeric cadmium action levels similar to its lead moves, while industry and trade groups have warned against limits they consider technically or economically infeasible—an implicit tension visible in commentary around New York and other state‑level proposals ^{[12] [9]}.

5. Bottom line: where things stand and what to watch next

As of the reporting provided, the FDA has formalized lead action levels but has not finalized cadmium action levels for infant foods and cereals, instead promising further evaluation and future proposals under Closer to Zero; EFSA has reduced its tolerable intake benchmark for cadmium, indicating a tighter EU risk posture though the sources do not specify an EU numeric limit for infant foods ^{[1] [2] [4] [10]}. Future steps to monitor: FDA’s Closer to Zero timeline and technical documents for proposed cadmium levels, EFSA or EU member‑state adoption of maximum levels derived from the lowered tolerable intake, and peer‑reviewed surveillance studies that report cadmium concentrations in marketed infant cereals and formulas ^{[1] [4] [11]}.