The February 2021 House subcommittee report did not rely on independent testing — it used the companies’ own internal test results, obtained through document requests. That detail is legally significant: these are not allegations of what the products contained; they are the companies’ own admissions of what their internal quality control found. Gerber’s internal tests showed arsenic up to 48 ppb — nearly five times the drinking water standard — yet Gerber continued selling those products without public disclosure or reformulation. Gerber is a subsidiary of Nestlé SA, the world’s largest food company, providing substantial resources for both defense and, ultimately, settlement.

Beech-Nut is in the most legally compromised position: its internal tests showed lead up to 886 ppb — more than 176 times the FDA action level for bottled water — and the company has already pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges of distributing adulterated food, paying $24 million to the government. That guilty plea is admissible in civil proceedings. Hain Celestial’s Earth’s Best brand is particularly egregious from a consumer protection standpoint: parents specifically chose the ‘organic’ label believing it meant safer and cleaner — while internal tests showed arsenic at 129 ppb. Nurture Inc. (HappyBABY) filed for bankruptcy in 2022 after its arsenic levels (up to 180 ppb) were publicized and after it refused to cooperate with Congress.

Walmart and Campbell Soup also face litigation for their Parent’s Choice and Plum Organics brands respectively. Walmart refused to produce internal testing data to Congress — a refusal that itself will feature in litigation as evidence of consciousness of guilt. The wide distribution of Parent’s Choice through Walmart’s retail network means the exposure pool for that brand may be among the largest of any defendant.