However, this is not new! While the article everyone is talking about comes from the March 18, 2009 issue of the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, finding perchlorate in infant formula, our food and our water is regretfully not a new occurance.
Being the wife of a rocket scientist (really!), I found that perchlorates are the salts from perchloric acid. These salts occur naturally in our water supply (in ground water in as many as 35 states and in cow's milk where cows ate plants watered with crops exposed to water with percholates) and via manufacturing - specifically for rocket fuel. They have been used by the medical community for nearly half of a century to treat disorders of the thyroid. Their impact on newborn infant brain growth and development is not known and difficult to estimate, according to the CDC. Read the CDC pamphlet on human consumption of perchlorate.
According to testimony on April 25, 2007 by Robert Brackett PhD on the FDA's ARole in Measuring and Assessing Perchlorate Levels in Food and Beverages before the Committee on Energy and Commerce, US House of Representatives:
Consumers should not view the low levels of perchlorate in the foods tested as an indicator of the "risk" of eating certain foods, particularly when many of the foods are important components of a nutritious and balanced diet. Some of these food items are also important sources of iodine. Until more is known concerning perchlorates occurrence in foods, FDA continues to recommend that consumers eat a balanced diet, choosing a variety of foods that are low in trans fat and saturated fat, and rich in high-fiber grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Perchlorate has been found in liquid and powdered infant formula brands. A list of liquid infant formulas previous identified with perchlorate as an ingredient is found on the site of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
Read the article from the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology