PHILADELPHIA -- The Food and Drug Administration urged food manufacturers last week to significantly reduce the amount of lead in processed baby food.
Lead is toxic for anyone, but children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure because they are still growing. Elevated blood levels of lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, slow physical and emotional development, and contribute to learning, behavior, hearing, and speech problems.
Many Philadelphia families are all too aware of the potential dangers of lead poisoning from old, lead water pipes and paints in the region's pre-1970s housing stock.
