Baby formula poses higher arsenic risk to newborns than breast milk

In the first U.S. study of urinary arsenic in babies, researchers found that formula-fed infants had higher arsenic levels than breast-fed infants, and that breast milk itself contained very low arsenic concentrations. The findings appear Feb. 23 online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

The researchers measured arsenic in home tap water, urine from 72 six-week-old infants and breast milk from women. Urinary arsenic was 7.5 times lower for breast-fed than formula-fed infants. The highest tap water arsenic concentrations far exceeded the arsenic concentrations in powdered formulas, but for the majority of the study's participants, both the powder and water contributed to exposure.