Lead Contamination in Milks Fed to Infants: 1972-1973.

Previous studies have shown that lead content in commercial milks fed to infants may be sufficient to exceed the daily permissible intake of lead (300µg) for toddlers. Similar studies undertaken one year later have indicated a marked reduction in lead levels of such milks. Nevertheless, processed milks may still deliver up to 100µg of lead daily, whereas, in comparison, fresh human or homogenized bovine milk contains no detectable lead (<0.5µg/100 ml). The presented data suggest that lead contamination is introduced at any one of several processing steps and that milk containers are not a significant source of lead contamination. We propose that currently applied standards of lead in infant milks (six to ten times above the level of contamination) be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]