We Found Toxic Pesticides in Target’s Baby Food — Again

Friends of the Earth conducted lab tests on Target's Good & Gather brand baby food in August 2025, finding a higher variety of pesticides than in 2024. The analysis of apple and pear fruit purées revealed 29 different pesticides, including carcinogens, endocrine disruptors, and PFAS, despite levels being below U.S. EPA limits.

• Testing of Target's Good & Gather Apple Fruit Purée and Pear Fruit Purée for babies revealed a total of 29 pesticides. Among these, 16 are categorized as highly hazardous, 10 are banned in the European Union, 8 are linked to hormone disruption, and 6 are linked to cancer.
• Five pesticides identified in the baby food products meet the definition of PFAS 'forever chemicals': flonicamid, flubendiamde, fluopyram, novaluron, and trifloxystrobin. One of these, flubendiamde, is banned in the United States.
• Six pesticides found in the products are classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as 'probable' or 'likely' carcinogens. Chlorothalonil was detected in two-thirds of the samples, and thiabendazole was found in half of the samples.
• The report identified residues of two classes of neurotoxic pesticides: neonicotinoids and organophosphates. Organophosphate metabolites were detected in 100% of both the pear and apple baby food samples.
• The pesticides detected were below the limits set by the U.S. EPA, but the report argues these standards are outdated and fail to incorporate recent science or align with the stricter bans found in the European Union.
• The use of these pesticides is linked to environmental damage, specifically harming pollinators and soil life. Neonicotinoids are cited as likely driving over 200 endangered species toward extinction according to the EPA.

APA

Friends of the Earth (2025). We Found Toxic Pesticides in Target’s Baby Food — Again. https://foe.org/toxic-pesticides-found-in-target-baby-food/

Chicago

Friends of the Earth. We Found Toxic Pesticides in Target’s Baby Food — Again. 2025. https://foe.org/toxic-pesticides-found-in-target-baby-food/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Friends of the Earth |title=We Found Toxic Pesticides in Target’s Baby Food — Again |date=18 November 2025 |url=https://foe.org/toxic-pesticides-found-in-target-baby-food/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{friendsoftheearth2025found, author = {{Friends of the Earth}}, title = {{We Found Toxic Pesticides in Target’s Baby Food — Again}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://foe.org/toxic-pesticides-found-in-target-baby-food/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }