**5. Conclusions**

Opinions on the cytotoxicity, carcinogenic, and genotoxic potential of hydroxymethylfurfural vary, while certain minerals and toxic metals are known to be deleterious if consumed in large quantities. However, the concentrations of such metals vary depending on the food type used. Infant foods and formulae contained varying amounts of HMF and metals, thus, the total daily intake of these contaminants is a ffected by individual feeding patterns. Notably, a high HMF content was observed in prune-based infant foods. On the other hand, with regard to the metal contents, it was observed that infant foods contained Mn, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Cr, while infant formulae contained Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, and Cr in decreasing order. There was a low presence of Ni and negligible quantities of Hg. Infants are within a vulnerable age group and have a restricted diet compared to other age groups, therefore, it is recommended that foods are monitored to ensure safe use. The setting up of limits with respect to this vulnerable group should be considered through further studies, using a greater diversification of samples that are subjected under varying conditions.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, writing—review, editing and supervision: E.A.; methodology and investigation: C.V.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Acknowledgments:** The authors acknowledge Adrian Bugeja-Douglas for technical support.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
