Estimated reading time: 8 minutes.
Key facts
- What happened: Texas sued Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA, Inc. on October 9, 2026, alleging they misled Texas parents by marketing Gerber baby food as safe, pure and rigorously tested while Gerber's own testing found heavy metals in ingredients.
- The case: State of Texas v. Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA, Inc., Cause No. 494-08253-2026, a state court case in Collin County, Texas, under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA).
- Core allegations: The petition says Gerber's 2017 to 2019 testing found 67 batches of rice flour above 90 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic, sweet potatoes with up to 48 ppb of lead, and carrots with up to 87 ppb of cadmium.
- What Texas wants: Limits on Gerber's safety claims, finished-product testing, notice to Texas buyers, civil penalties it says would exceed $10 million, and restoration of money.
- Gerber's response: Gerber says its products meet Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits for heavy metals.
- Status: Newly filed state enforcement action, not a class action. There is no claim form for parents.
In this article
- What happened
- Who the parties are
- Why heavy metals show up in baby food
- What the petition alleges
- The law Texas is using
- What Texas is asking the court to order
- What Gerber says
- Timeline
- Who may be affected
- What remains disputed
- Frequently asked questions
What happened
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on October 14, 2026 that his office had sued Gerber and its U.S. parent company. The verified petition was filed October 9 in Collin County, north of Dallas.
The case is about marketing, not a recall. Texas does not claim Gerber broke a federal food safety limit. It claims Gerber told parents its food was safe, pure, rigorously tested and pediatrician-recommended while Gerber's own records showed heavy metals in ingredients at levels Texas calls dangerous. The petition says state investigators bought Gerber rice cereal and Gerber 2nd Foods purées in Collin County in October 2026 and attaches the receipts and packaging.
These are allegations Gerber disputes the petition, and no court has ruled on whether any Gerber statement was false or misleading.
Who the parties are
Gerber Products Company makes and sells baby food nationwide. The petition says it is a Michigan corporation based in Arlington, Virginia, wholly owned by Nestlé S.A. since September 1, 2007.
Nestlé USA, Inc. is Nestlé S.A.'s main U.S. operating company. The petition says it has been registered in Texas since 1936 and operates a distribution facility of about 524,252 square feet in Fort Worth.
The State of Texas sues through the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. The case number places it in the 494th District Court, and the petition demands a jury trial.
Why heavy metals show up in baby food
Arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury occur in soil and water and can be absorbed by crops such as rice and root vegetables. Gerber says in its response that they cannot be completely eliminated from the food supply. Young children are a focus because they eat more relative to body weight and their brains are developing. The petition notes a federal health agency ranks these four metals first, second, third and seventh on its list of substances posing the most significant potential threat to human health.
Levels are measured in parts per billion (ppb). Federal rules cap inorganic arsenic in bottled water at 10 ppb, lead and cadmium at 5 ppb each, and mercury in drinking water at 2 ppb. Texas uses those water limits as its yardstick.
The FDA's program to reduce these metals in children's food is called Closer to Zero. Bloomberg Law reports the agency has finalized limits only for lead in baby food. FoodNavigator reports the FDA's action level for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal is 100 ppb, and for lead in single-ingredient root vegetable baby foods is 20 ppb. An action level is a guidance threshold the FDA may use in deciding whether to act, not a safety guarantee.
What the petition alleges
Internal testing. The petition says that from 2017 through 2019 Gerber used 67 batches of rice flour above 90 ppb inorganic arsenic, sweet potatoes with up to 48 ppb lead, and carrots with up to 87 ppb cadmium. It says Gerber rarely tested for mercury and mostly tested ingredients rather than finished products. These figures became public in 2021 through a U.S. House subcommittee report.
The 2021 cereal tests. The petition says a state public health laboratory, identified in the Attorney General's announcement as Alaska's, found two Gerber rice cereal samples above the 100 ppb federal limit for inorganic arsenic, with Gerber's cereal averaging 87.43 ppb. Beech-Nut, whose cereal averaged less, recalled its product and left the infant rice cereal business. Texas says Gerber has never recalled a product over heavy metals.
The marketing. The petition quotes Gerber statements that every jar passes "over 100 quality checks," that "the ingredients we use and our final products are both specifically tested for heavy metals," and that "Clean Field Farming" reduces heavy metals. It also cites a May 29, 2026 campaign calling Gerber "the #1 pediatrician recommended baby and toddler food brand."
The QR code. Since 2025, to comply with a California law, Gerber labels carry a QR code linking to heavy metal results for products made after January 1, 2025. Texas argues a back-of-label disclosure cannot cure a false front-of-label claim. "The disclosure changed. The food did not," the petition says.
What the numbers do and do not show The figures describe ingredients tested from 2017 to 2019. They are not results for jars on shelves today, and FoodNavigator notes the rice flour arsenic figure is below the FDA's 100 ppb action level for infant rice cereal.
The law Texas is using
The DTPA bars false, misleading or deceptive acts in trade. Section 17.47 lets the Consumer Protection Division seek injunctions, restoration of money to consumers and civil penalties. Texas says it gave the companies at least seven days' notice before filing.
Penalties are charged per violation, so counting matters. Texas proposes counting each sale, each unit offered, each advertisement or digital impression delivered in Texas, and each day the information went undisclosed.
What Texas is asking the court to order
- A temporary injunction, an order that applies while the case is pending, after a hearing.
- A permanent ban on calling Gerber baby food sold in Texas safe, clean, pure, rigorously tested or pediatrician-recommended unless the finished product is tested and contains no more than 10 ppb inorganic arsenic, 5 ppb lead, 5 ppb cadmium and 2 ppb mercury. For infant cereal, the limits would be 15 ppb arsenic and 10 ppb each of lead and cadmium.
- Finished-product testing of products sold in Texas, with results disclosed.
- Corrective disclosure to Texas purchasers, by direct notice and at the point of sale, of the metal levels Gerber's testing found.
- Civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation, which Texas says would exceed $10 million in total.
- Restoration of money obtained through the challenged practices, plus interest, costs and attorneys' fees.
Texas says its proposed limits mirror federal water standards and the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, a bill that did not become law.
No claim process for parents This is a state lawsuit, not a class action. There is nothing to sign up for. Any restitution would depend on what the court orders.
What Gerber says
In a statement published in full by KVUE and quoted by UPI, Gerber said: "Nothing is more important than the safety and quality of our baby food, and it remains undisputed that Gerber products meet FDA limits for heavy metals." It said every product is tested for more than 500 toxins and contaminants, that it supports the FDA's Closer to Zero plan, and that it "has long been committed to reducing their presence through careful ingredient sourcing, supplier requirements, testing and quality controls."
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2017 to 2019 | Gerber ingredient testing cited in the petition |
| 2021 | House subcommittee reports; state lab finds two Gerber cereal samples above 100 ppb arsenic |
| 2025 | Gerber adds QR codes linking to test results |
| August 2025 | Paxton opens an investigation into Gerber and Plum Organics, according to Bloomberg Law |
| May 29, 2026 | Gerber launches its "#1 pediatrician recommended" campaign |
| September 2026 | Plum Organics reaches an agreement with Texas on heavy metal standards |
| October 9, 2026 | Texas files its petition |
| October 14, 2026 | Attorney General announces the lawsuit |
Who may be affected
The case covers Gerber baby food marketed and sold in Texas. A win for Texas would mainly change how Gerber labels and advertises there and what testing data it shares with Texas buyers. Families outside Texas are not part of it.
Separately, FoodNavigator reports that hundreds of personal injury suits against baby food makers are consolidated in federal court in the Northern District of California as MDL No. 3101. Those cases make different claims. Parents with health questions should talk with a pediatrician. For cases accepting claimants now, see our list of class action cases you can join.
What remains disputed
- Whether the marketing was deceptive. Gerber says its food meets FDA limits; Texas says the safety claims misled parents regardless.
- Current metal levels. The petition's figures are from 2017 to 2019. We did not find current finished-product results in the record we reviewed.
- The benchmarks. Whether a court will tie Gerber's claims to water standards and an unenacted bill is open.
- Penalties. No violations have been counted or penalties awarded.
- Next steps. Texas asked for a temporary injunction hearing at the earliest available date; we found no hearing date in public records.
This article is for information only and is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Texas suing Gerber?
Texas says Gerber and Nestlé USA marketed Gerber baby food as safe, pure and rigorously tested while Gerber's own testing found heavy metals, violating the DTPA.
Is Gerber baby food being recalled?
No recall has been announced in connection with this lawsuit. It challenges marketing claims.
Can parents get money from the Gerber lawsuit?
There is no claim form. Texas asks the court to order restoration of money, but any payment would depend on a court order or settlement.
What heavy metals does the lawsuit mention?
Inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, citing rice flour, sweet potatoes and carrots.
What does Gerber say?
Gerber says its products meet FDA limits for heavy metals and are tested for more than 500 toxins and contaminants.
Does the case cover families outside Texas?
No. It concerns products marketed and sold in Texas.
