H.R. 9949: Safe Baby Formula Act of 2026

This bill would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to take two main actions related to infant formula:

• Within 1 year of enactment, complete a study on how arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead in infant formula affect infant health.
• Within 90 days of enactment, establish evidence-based action levels for those metals in infant formula.

The bill says that, when setting those action levels, the Secretary must consider:

• whether manufacturers can realistically meet the limits,
• how well the government can enforce the limits for imported formula, and
• the possible effect on domestic food supply and availability.

In practical terms, the bill would require the federal government to study the health risks of certain heavy metals in infant formula and set specific standards or thresholds for how much of those substances would be allowed. The bill does not itself set the limits; it instructs HHS to create them.

The bill defines “infant formula” by referring to the definition already used in federal food law.

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