Heavy Metals in Toddler Snacks: Which Ones Run Higher and What to Choose

Toddlers snack a lot, and packaged snacks make life easier. But some of the most popular options are also among the foods highest in heavy metals, mostly because so many are made from rice.

You do not need to cut snacks out. A few swaps make a real difference.

Which snacks tend to run higher

In Healthy Babies Bright Futures' 2022 testing, the ten most contaminated foods babies and toddlers commonly eat were, from highest:

1. Rice cakes
2. Crisped rice cereal
3. Rice-based puffs
4. Brown rice
5. Rice-based teething biscuits and rusks
6. White rice
7. Raisins
8. Teething crackers (non-rice)
9. Granola bars with raisins
10. Oat-ring cereal

Most are snacks. Rice stands out because it grows in flooded fields and absorbs more arsenic from soil and water than other grains. Read the HBBF report.

Why snacks deserve extra attention

In January 2025, FDA finalized lead action levels for packaged foods for babies and young children under 2. The guidance covers purees, mixed foods, yogurts, and dry infant cereals, but it does not cover snack foods like puffs and teething biscuits. FDA said it is still collecting data on grain-based snacks.

So snacks have less federal guidance behind them than purees do, even though toddlers may eat them every day.

Easy lower-metal swaps

HBBF and Consumer Reports have both suggested lower-metal snacks, cut or cooked to fit your child's age:

• Apples or unsweetened applesauce
• Bananas
• Cheese
• Yogurt
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Peaches
• Beans
• Grapes, cut lengthwise
• Barley with diced vegetables

If you buy packaged snacks, choose rice-free or multigrain options some of the time, and check the ingredient list for rice flour or brown rice syrup. For teething, a chilled, peeled cucumber or a frozen banana (with supervision) can stand in for rice rusks.

Everyday habits that help

• Rotate snacks rather than serving the same one daily.
• Offer whole foods as snacks when you can.
• Skip juice. Pediatricians recommend none before age 1, and whole fruit after that.
• Vary grains at meals too, with oats, barley, quinoa, and whole wheat alongside rice.

More from the American Academy of Pediatrics: Heavy Metals in Baby Food.

Checking a specific snack

Some snack makers post heavy metal test results on their websites or through a QR code on the package. Some products also carry the Heavy Metal Certified mark, which means that product was tested through an independent laboratory and met a published standard for eight metals, with retesting every year. The mark does not mean a snack is free of metals. What the mark means.

FAQ

Which toddler snacks are highest in heavy metals? In published testing, rice cakes, rice puffs, crisped rice cereal, and teething biscuits and rusks rank highest, mostly because of arsenic in rice.

Are rice cakes bad for toddlers? They are among the highest-arsenic foods tested. Many pediatric groups suggest serving them only occasionally and offering other snacks most of the time.

Are organic snacks lower in heavy metals? Not reliably. Organic rules do not set heavy metal limits.

Does FDA limit lead in toddler snacks? FDA's 2025 lead action levels for baby food do not cover snack foods. FDA is still gathering data on grain-based snacks.

Learn more

• Heavy metals in puffs and teething rusks
• Applesauce and fruit pouches
• What Heavy Metal Tested certification is

Make toddler snacks? Book a 30-minute call about certification.