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Many common American goods contain levels of elements that can be harmful to humans, such as arsenic, lead and uranium, the FDA says.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the results of its 2018 to 2020 Total Diet Study (TDS), which tested dozens of regular foods for the prevalence of both harmful and beneficial elements.
Findings include the discovery of lead in ranch salad dressings and cadmium in potato products such as chips and french fries.
Regulators have often warned about potentially harmful chemicals in foods, and many know they are present, but this is rarely a look at which foods in particular contain which types of contaminants.
Worryingly, the baby food products included in the sample were among the most dangerous, with half found to contain some type of dangerous metal.
This is the second edition of the TDS with the first collecting food samples from 1991 to 2017.
A total of 307 different foods were analyzed for the study, including 62 baby foods and 46 vegetables.
The FDA did not disclose which brands of products were included in its samples.
The 25 different elements tested for included some that are normal - although not healthy - for human consumption, such as calcium, iron and potassium.
Some of the compounds studied are considered unsafe for humans in significant quantities, such as arsenic, lead and uranium.
Lead may be the chemical whose dangers Americans are most familiar with. Once commonplace in household goods, the dangerous long-term effects of lead are on everyone's lips.
Exposure to the element causes brain and kidney damage, anemia and general weakness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Worryingly, lead was found as a contaminant in two baby products, sweet potato formula and teething cookies.
The element is particularly dangerous at a young age because it affects brain development - and can permanently lead to a significant loss of IQ points.
Lead contamination has also been found in white wine, ranch salad dressing and sandwich cookies, the FDA reports.
Uranium has also been found in some baby foods, including teething cookies and oatmeal.
The cancer-causing chemicals most commonly linked to the development of nuclear weapons are also found in American cheese and even some honey-flavored cereals.
Cadmium is another highly dangerous, potentially carcinogenic chemical found in many foods.
The element is commonly found in soil, and small amounts of exposure over a person's lifetime can cause organ damage and increase the risk of cancer.
It has been found in potato products such as French fries and leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach.
Two different dangerous chemicals have been found to be prevalent in fish products: mercury and arsenic.
While the connection between mercury and foods like canned tuna, baked cod, salmon and shrimp may not be a surprise to many, the prevalence of arsenic might be.
The chemical is linked to lung and skin cancer. It has also been found in baby foods such as dry rice cereal, puffed snacks and mixed cereals - along with canned tuna, baked cod, baked salmon and pre-cooked shrimp.
However, the results of the study were not all bad. Calcium - a crucial vitamin for bone development in children - is found in almost all foods tested, and baby dental biscuits and cereal mixes were among the most common.
Iron, another crucial mineral for physical development, is also widely found in baby foods such as dry rice cereal, mixed cereal and oatmeal.