TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four out of 20 samples of baby food bought in northern Taiwan have been found to contain dangerous levels of cadmium, the exposure to which could result in kidney, bone, and brain damage in infants.

The samples include 11 rice cereal products and 9 teething wafers, purchased online and in retail stores from Taipei and New Taipei in July, according to the Consumers’ Foundation, which held a press conference regarding the inspection on Monday (Dec. 14).

The four problematic products, all produced in Taiwan, were found to contain cadmium at levels between 0.05 and 0.3 ppm, exceeding the safety limit of 0.04 ppm. They are made by Open Seeds (喜稼園), Want Want (旺旺), Yifeng Food (義峰食品), and Sanlea (三立).

The companies now face a fine between NT$30,000 (US$1,066) and NT$3 million in violation of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation. They could also be ordered to suspend or terminate business under severe circumstances.

The revelation has sparked safety concerns about the source of the rice products, with the Council of Agriculture (COA) officials promising an investigation into the cadmium contamination. According to COA, only five out of 589 rice paddies inspected this year were found to have been contaminated by the metal, wrote UDN.