Fluoride Found in Baby Food

Some foods frequently eaten by babies and toddlers contain fluoride, according to a report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (September 2001). The study found that a single serving (71 grams or 2.5 ounces) of baby food containing mechanically separated pur?-chicken contained 0.6 milligrams of fluoride. Thus, one small jar of baby food made with chicken delivers more fluoride than a six-month-old child should receive in an entire day. Too much fluoride can cause skeletal fluorosis, which is characterized by spotted or brown-stained permanent teeth, bony overgrowth, neurological complications, arthritis and even cancer. How does fluoride get into baby foods? Farm animals ingest fluoride added to water supplies and it gets stored in bones and teeth. Meat removed from bones by machine contains bone powder in the finished product--thus mechanically separated meats, especially chicken, have much more fluoride than most foods, because they contain fluoride-rich bone dust.

Source: Acres USA, February 2002.