Clean Label Project Applauds Operation Stork Speed Initiative to Strengthen Infant Formula Safety Standards

BROOMFIELD, CO, UNITED STATES, March 25, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Clean Label Project, a national nonprofit dedicated to bringing truth and transparency to food and consumer product safety, today announced its strong support for the “Operation Stork Speed” initiative.

In 2018, Clean Label Project co-authored and published the most comprehensive study ever conducted on lead and cadmium levels in America’s top-selling baby food and infant formula. This groundbreaking research shed light on the presence of heavy metals in products designed for the most vulnerable consumers—infants and young children.

Since then, Clean Label Project has partnered with many of America’s most trusted and fastest-growing baby food and infant formula brands to drive meaningful change. Through rigorous formulation analysis, supply chain optimization, and proactive testing protocols, these collaborations have led to significant reductions in heavy metal levels, setting a new standard for transparency and safety in the industry.

“What gives me hope is the growing number of brands that aren’t waiting for an act of Congress to shape the future of food,” said Jaclyn Bowen, MPH, MS, Executive Director of Clean Label Project. “Clean Label Project-certified brands are proactively taking responsibility—owning their supply chains, prioritizing transparency, and leading with integrity to build consumer trust in the foods parents and caregivers rely on for their children. We applaud RFK Jr.’s initiative to push for continued reductions in heavy metals, bringing the industry closer to zero contamination and requiring even more brands to step up and do the right thing.”

Operation Stork Speed, an initiative from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), aims to strengthen the quality, safety, nutritional adequacy, and resilience of the domestic infant formula supply. This is a crucial step toward improving infant formula safety and quality—especially since formula is often the sole source of nutrition during a baby’s most critical stages of brain and immune development.

“The first 1,000 days of life are the foundation for a child’s lifelong health, cognitive development, and immune resilience,” said Bowen. “During this critical window, every nutrient or contaminant a baby is exposed to has a lasting impact. While past regulations have granted infant formula certain exemptions, Operation Stork Speed is a much-needed course correction. It recognizes that the most vulnerable deserve the highest level of protection, not the lowest.”

For over a decade, Clean Label Project has led the charge in consumer advocacy, food safety research, and industry accountability. Through independent testing, data analysis, and certification programs, the nonprofit has helped spark regulatory reforms and push brands toward safer, more transparent practices. Its work has exposed dangerous levels of heavy metals in baby food, driven federal action, and encouraged cleaner sourcing across the industry.

“The safety of infant formula should never be an afterthought,” Bowen continued. “This initiative reinforces the importance of rigorous oversight, enhanced testing, and regulatory consistency, ensuring that parents can trust the products they rely on to nourish their babies.”

For more information on Clean Label Project’s mission and advocacy efforts, visit www.cleanlabelproject.org.

About Clean Label Project
Clean Label Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting truth and transparency in consumer product labeling and ingredient quality. By testing for industrial and environmental contaminants in popular products, Clean Label Project provides consumers with the information they need to make safer, healthier choices.

Kate Stuard
Clean Label Project
Kate@dsjstrat.com