Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches Recalled for 'Extremely High Lead Levels,' Says FDA

Three popular brands of purees, such as WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis brand fruit puree products with cinnamon flavor, have come under fire in recent weeks due to allegations that the cinnamon in the product caused lead poisoning in young children. Recently, these recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches were found with "extremely high lead levels."

Lead Contamination in Applesauce Pouches

(Photo : Pixabay/Frauke Riether)

Over 69 reports or allegations of adverse reactions could be linked to the recalled product received by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Most of the affected consumers are below the age of six.

According to the FDA, tests revealed that the spice samples contained exceptionally high lead levels. An individual sample was found to have 5,110 parts per million lead concentrations, which is about 2,000 times greater than the suggested international safety criteria for spices such as cinnamon, set by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations at 2.5 parts per million.

On the other hand, on Thursday, Dec. 14, Jim Jones, the Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods at the FDA, stated in an interview that the investigation is still pending. However, up to this point, every single one of the signals that the organization has been receiving has pointed to an intentional action on the part of someone in the supply chain, and they are attempting to sort of figure out what that action was.

Lead Poisoning Affects More People

The increasing number of cases corresponds with the FDA's ongoing investigation into the origin of the contaminated cinnamon linked to the contamination. Because of Ecuador's restricted jurisdiction, the FDA has been unable to take immediate action to examine some of the individuals who are suspected of being responsible for the poisonings.

On Tuesday, Dec. 19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)official health officials are currently conducting investigations into at least 205 cases of lead poisoning across 33 different states that have been related to contaminated applesauce. It reportedly represents an increase over the previous weekly tally of 125 instances that the agency had.

In addition to the over 20 additional states that have previously reported instances, the state health departments of Michigan, Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington are now submitting cases to the CDC.

As mentioned, the number of incidents per state is unknown. A spokeswoman for the CDC stated that the organization has decided to withhold state-specific data, citing patient privacy as the reason.

Moreover, officials from the federal government have urged state health authorities to investigate incidents of lead poisoning. These poisonings could go unnoticed if individuals who consume applesauce contaminated with lead do not undergo blood tests to determine the presence of the hazardous heavy metal. Thus, although there have been reports of children as old as nine, the median age of the current cases investigated by the CDC is approximately two years old.