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*hb0196*
HOUSE BILL 196
J1 6lr1210
(PRE–FILED) CF SB 570
By: Delegate Taveras Delegates Taveras, Alston, Bagnall, Cullison, Guzzone, Hill,
Hutchinson, Kaufman, Kipke, Lopez, Martinez, M. Morgan, Reilly,
Rosenberg, Ross, Szeliga, White Holland, and Woorman
Requested: October 15, 2025
Introduced and read first time: January 14, 2026
Assigned to: Health
Committee Report: Favorable with amendments
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 7, 2026
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Public Health – Baby Food Testing – Definition of Baby Food and Labeling – 2
Requirements 3
FOR the purpose of altering the definition of “baby food” for purposes of certain provisions 4
of law governing baby food testing to include, rather than exclude, infant formula 5
and to include infant cereal; altering the defined term “toxic heavy metal” to be “toxic 6
element” for purposes of certain provisions of law governing baby food testing; 7
authorizing a person to sell, distribute, or offer for sale infant cereal manufactured 8
before a certain date; requiring a manufacturer of baby food to make certain 9
information about baby food publicly available without requiring that certain 10
information be provided; requiring certain information to be included on certain baby 11
food product labels on or before certain dates; requiring manufacturers of baby food 12
to include a certain statement on a certain page of an Internet website where baby 13
food is sold; requiring manufacturers of baby food to retain certificates of analysis 14
for at least a certain period of time; and generally relating to baby food testing and 15
labeling. 16
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 17
Article – Health – General 18
Section 21–330.4 19
Annotated Code of Maryland 20
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 21
2 HOUSE BILL 196
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2
Article – Health – General 3
21–330.4. 4
(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 5
(2) (i) “Baby food” means food packaged in a jar, pouch, tub, or box sold 6
specifically for babies and children under the age of 2 years. 7
(ii) “Baby food” [does not include infant] INCLUDES: 8
1. INFANT formula, as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 321(z); AND 9
2. INFANT CEREAL , AS DEFINED IN 7 C.F.R. § 220.2. 10
INFANT CEREAL. 11
(III) “BABY FOOD ” DOES NOT INCLUDE INF ANT FORMULA, AS 12
DEFINED IN 21 U.S.C. § 321(Z). 13
(3) “CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS” MEANS A WRITTEN REPORT, WHICH 14
MAY BE IN ELECTRONIC FORM, ISSUED BY A LABORATORY ACCREDITED UNDER THE 15
STANDARDS OF THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR 16
STANDARDIZATION/INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION THAT 17
IDENTIFIES: 18
(I) THE PRODUCTION LOT TESTED; 19
(II) THE ANALYTICAL METHODS USED; AND 20
(III) THE MEASURED CONCENTR ATION OF EACH REGULA TED 21
ELEMENT IN PARTS PER BILLION. 22
(4) (I) “INFANT CEREAL ” MEANS A CEREAL –BASED FOOD 23
PRODUCT THAT IS: 24
1. SPECIFICALLY MANUFACT URED FOR CONSUMPTION 25
BY CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF 12 MONTHS; 26
HOUSE BILL 196 3
2. LABELED, MARKETED, OR OTHERWISE REPRESENTED 1
AS SUITABLE FOR INFA NT FEEDING , INCLUDING THROUGH PA CKAGING, 2
ADVERTISING, OR INSTRUCTIONS INDICATING USE FOR INFANTS; AND 3
3. TYPICALLY PREPARED BY MIXING WITH BREAST 4
MILK, INFANT FORMULA, OR WATER TO FORM A SOFT OR SEMI–LIQUID CONSISTENCY 5
APPROPRIATE FOR INFANTS. 6
(II) “INFANT CEREAL ” INCLUDES RICE CEREAL , OAT CEREAL , 7
MULTIGRAIN CEREAL, OR OTHER GRAIN–BASED CEREALS MARKETED FOR INFANTS 8
UNDER THE AGE OF 12 MONTHS. 9
(III) “INFANT CEREAL ” DOES NOT INCLUDE GRA IN–BASED 10
BREAKFAST CEREALS IN TENDED FOR CONSUMPTI ON BY CHILDREN AT LE AST 12 11
MONTHS OLD OR BY ADULTS. 12
(3) (5) “Manufacturer” include s a food manufacturer, food processor, 13
and food packer. 14
(4) (6) “Production aggregate” means a quantity of product that is 15
intended to have uniform composition, character, and quality and is produced according to 16
a master manufacturing order. 17
(5) (7) “Proficient laboratory” means a laboratory that: 18
(i) Is accredited under the standards of the International 19
Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission 17025:2017; 20
(ii) Uses an analytical method at least as sensitive as the analytical 21
method described in Section 4.7 of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Elemental 22
Analysis Manual for Food and Related Products; and 23
(iii) Demonstrates proficiency in quantifying each toxic element to at 24
least 6 micrograms of th e toxic element to kilogram of food through an independent 25
proficiency test by achieving a z–score that is less than or equal to plus or minus two; AND 26
(IV) IS CAPABLE OF PERFORMING VALIDATED TRACE–ELEMENT 27
ANALYTICAL TESTING. 28
(6) (8) “QR code” means a machine –readable code, consisting of an 29
array of squares, used for storing an Internet website in order to access a webpage. 30
(7) (9) “Representative sample” means a sample that consists of a 31
number of units that are drawn based on rational crit eria, such as random sampling, and 32
intended to ensure that the sample accurately portrays the material being sampled. 33
4 HOUSE BILL 196
(8) (10) “Toxic heavy metal ELEMENT” means arsenic, cadmium, lead, or 1
mercury. 2
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, on or after 3
January 1, 2025, a person may not sell, distribute, or offer for sale baby food in the State 4
that contains toxic heavy metals ELEMENTS that exceed the limits established by the U.S. 5
Food and Drug Administration. 6
(2) A person may sell, distribute, or offer for sale baby food INFANT 7
CEREAL manufactured before January 1, 2026 APRIL 1, 2028. 8
(c) (1) Beginning January 1, 2025, each manufacturer of baby food shall test 9
a representative sample of each production aggregate of the manufacturer’s final baby food 10
product for each toxic heavy metal ELEMENT. 11
(2) The testing required under paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be 12
conducted by a proficient laboratory at least once per month. 13
(3) A manufacturer may test the final baby food product in accordance with 14
paragraph (1) of this subsection before packaging individual units of baby food for sale or 15
distribution. 16
(d) On the request of the Department, a manufacturer of baby food shall pro vide 17
the results of the testing conducted under subsection (c) of this section to an authorized 18
agent of the Department. 19
(e) Beginning January 1, 2026, each EACH manufacturer of baby food shall: 20
(1) Make BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2026, MAKE THE FOLLOWING 21
INFORMATION publicly available on the manufacturer’s website for each baby food product 22
sold, manufactured, delivered, held, or offered for sale in the State WITHOUT REQUIRING 23
THE PROVISION OF A UPC NUMBER, A LOT NUMBER, OR A PROOF OF PURCHASE: 24
(i) The name and level of each toxic heavy metal ELEMENT present 25
in the final baby food product as determined by the testing conducted under subsection (c) 26
of this section; 27
(ii) Sufficient information, such as the product name, universal 28
product code, or lot or batch number, to enable consumers to identify the final baby food 29
product; and 30
(iii) A link to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website that 31
includes the most recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidance and information 32
about the health effects of the toxic heavy metals ELEMENTS on children; and 33
HOUSE BILL 196 5
(2) If the baby food is tested for a toxic heavy metal ELEMENT subject to 1
an action level, regulatory limit, or tolerance established by the U.S. Food and Drug 2
Administration under 21 C.F.R. § 109, include on the baby food product label: 3
(i) The following statement: “For information about toxic element 4
testing on this product, scan the QR code.”; and 5
(ii) A QR code or other machine –readable code that allows 6
consumers to access on the man ufacturer’s website or the baby food product information 7
page: 8
1. The test results for the toxic heavy metals; and 9
2. A link to the webpage on the U.S. Food and Drug 10
Administration website that includes the most recent guidance and information about the 11
health effects of the toxic heavy metal ELEMENT on children; 12
(3) INCLUDE THE INFORMATION REQUIRED UNDER ITEM (2) OF THIS 13
SUBSECTION: 14
(I) FOR BABY FOOD THAT IS NOT INFANT CEREAL, BEGINNING 15
JANUARY 1, 2026; AND 16
(II) FOR INFANT CEREAL, BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2028; 17
(4) IF THE BABY FOOD IS SOLD ONLINE OR DIRECTLY TO CONSUMERS 18
IN THE STATE AND SHIPPED TO CONSUMERS IN THE STATE ON OR AFTER JANUARY 19
1, 2027, INCLUDE ON THE PRODU CT DETAILS PAGE OF E ACH INTERNET WEBSITE 20
WHERE THE BABY FOOD IS SOLD THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT: “FOR INFORMATION 21
ABOUT TOXIC ELEMENT TESTING ON THIS PRODUCT, VISIT (INSERT THE LINK TO THE 22
PAGE ON WHICH THE IN FORMATION REQUIRED U NDER ITEM (1) OF THIS 23
SUBSECTION IS POSTED)”; AND 24
(5) BEGINNING APRIL 1, 2028, RETAIN EACH CERTIFIC ATE OF 25
ANALYSIS FOR BABY FOOD TESTED UNDER THIS SECTION FOR AT LEAST 5 YEARS. 26
(f) If a consumer believes, based on information gathered through the use of the 27
code included on the baby food product label under subsection (e)(2) (E)(2)(II) of this 28
section, that baby food is being sold in the State with toxic heavy metals ELEMENTS that 29
exceed limits established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the consumer shall 30
report the baby food to the Department. 31
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 32
October 1, 2026. 33