Arsenic candy? Weed-killer in bread? What to know about Florida's food testing 

From reports of arsenic in candy to toxic bread, the Healthy Florida First initiative released several food findings in an ongoing effort to strengthen safety standards.

But some experts are wary of the results, wanting more public information on the process.

First lady Casey DeSantis is at the helm of the initiative. She said consumers deserve to know what's in their food to make informed decisions.

"There is a major disconnect between a chemical labeled as unsafe to ingest and its quiet presence in everyday food like bread," she said.

But on "The Florida Roundup," Alex LeBeau, an environmental scientist specializing in toxicology, said he'd like to understand the testing process and methods. The owner of Exposure Assessment Consulting mentioned it'd be helpful to see the raw data and lab reports.

From testing process concerns to the findings, here's what to know.

Concerns over testing

On the Healthy Florida First website, there are results for toxins in baby formula, candy and bread. Specific products are listed, but the testing process is not mentioned. The testing is conducted by an independent "certified" laboratory for the state Department of Health.

LeBeau mentioned how there could be multiple ways to test for toxins depending on the type of food product. He said you want to make sure you can adequately test the actual product, but it's hard to know what the state did without having access to the full reports.

"I've seen other references allude to them testing using a method that's for environmental median, like soil or groundwater. So I don't know how applicable that is going to be to a food product, and it may be they might have modified the method — the laboratory — but that given information is not publicly available," LeBeau said.

He said that although the initiative is a great idea, it's difficult to interpret and apply the information since there's a "lot of unknowns."

"When I do these processes, I say these are my methods. These are the lab results. These are the steps I did for recalculating risk and exposure," LeBeau said. "None of that information is available, that I've seen, and it makes it very difficult for not only the general public, but even people who are familiar with this to interpret how to apply that information."

LeBeau explained how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has risk assessments from any constituent that are often 100-page documents explaining how they got there, the inputs they use and more. There's also an executive summary at the front of the document to make it a "little more digestible."

"I think there should be trust, and part of that trust is an open and honest dialogue," LeBeau said.

Heavy metals discovered in baby formula

The Department of Health tested 24 infant formula products and discovered elevated levels of heavy metals in 16 of them.

These metals included arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and pesticides. The results indicate the testing levels exceeded the maximum daily limit set by the EPA and Food and Drug Administration.

For example, Similac Soy Isomil Powder was shown to have almost all metals present except for pesticides.

You can find the results on Healthy Florida First's website.

Arsenic found in candy

State testing for heavy metals in 46 candy products from 10 manufacturers detected arsenic in 28 items. These items included Sour Patch Kids, SweetTarts, Jolly Ranchers, Nerds, Twizzlers and more.

DeSantis said the concern is beyond single servings as arsenic exposure accumulates over time and across multiple foods. She also said a big part of the problem is how candy is marketed, packaged and consumed.

ALSO READ: Candy under the microscope: Florida testing reveals arsenic in sweet treats

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo said long-term exposure to arsenic — especially during childhood — has been linked to developmental impacts, effects on the immune system and increased cancer risk.

For the results, go to Health Florida First's website.

Herbicide in bread

The state tested eight bread products across five national brands. It found that the widely used herbicide glyphosate — commonly found to control weeds — was detected in six. This included types of Wonder Bread and Nature's Own.

The levels ranged from nondetectable to 191.04 pesticides in parts per billion.

Samantha Putterman, a reporter with PolitiFact, told "The Florida Roundup" this might sound scary, but the measurement is of "extremely low concentrations."

"To put that into perspective with bread at that highest level that Florida found, a person weighing about 150 pounds would need to eat around 18,850 slices of such bread every day for a lifetime, and they would just reach the allowable glyphosate consumption safety limit," Putterman said.

Ladapo said chronic exposure to glyphosate has been linked to harmful gut microbiome changes, liver inflammation and adverse neurologic effects.

Putterman also explained how experts think it's misleading to compare the commercial weed-killers to the trace amounts of glyphosate found in food.

"The concentration of glyphosate in commercial weed-killers, for example, is estimated to be tens of thousands to millions of times higher than the traces found in some foods after environmental degradation and food processing," Putterman said. "These chemical warnings, they typically indicate hazards or risks from direct high-level exposure. So we're talking about swallowing pesticide solution or having it sprayed in your eyes."

For the state test results, go to Healthy Florida First's website.

'Must be taken into context'

Overall, LeBeau said, it's important to understand that food manufacturers evaluate and establish specifications for their products. They have tolerances that their ingredients have to be within. The EPA and FDA also have tolerances that are allowed on food products entering the market.

"Those are based on risk assessments that have been done to show, 'Hey, these levels, we don't identify any elevated human risk here,' " LeBeau said.

He said that just because something is found, it still must be "taken into context with what they're discussing about the intake of that food product as well."

"The dose makes a poison," LeBeau said. "There's a safe intake and unsafe intake of everything in life."

LeBeau added that you can go on the FDA website and look up things like arsenic compounds. For example, he said carrots and sweet potatoes have arsenic in them as it's a naturally occurring element.

"So how do they apply this in context? Are they trying to say that the sweet potato is safer than this candy?" LeBeau asked. "To me, it creates more questions and confusion than it actually provides clarity and transparency."

WUSF's Rick Mayer contributed to this report. This story was compiled from interviews conducted by Tom Hudson for "The Florida Roundup."