According to FDA inspectors, cinnamon samples collected at a facility linked to contaminated applesauce puffs were found to contain toxic lead 2,000 times higher than the proposed standard.
According to the latest information released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), tests conducted at a facility in Ecuador operated by Oster Foods (which produces the recalled jams) found that cinnamon given to the plant by another company (Negasmart)** contained "extremely high levels of lead contamination at 5,110 ppm and 2,270 ppm, respectively." ”
Given context, an international agency tasked with setting lead limits in bark-based spices such as cinnamon said, "The FDA is considering a maximum of 25 ppm standard. ”。
As of Dec. 18, 65 children under the age of 6 have been diagnosed with symptomatic lead poisoning related to applesauce recalled from various brands.
Last week, a source at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said the cinnamon used in the recalled applesauce may have been intentionally added with toxic substances.
We're still investigating," Jim Jones, the FDA's deputy commissioner for human food, told Political Cooperation, "All the signals we've gotten so far are that this was a deliberate act by someone in the chain, and we're trying to figure out why." ”
So far, the recalled puree bags are from three brands – Weis, Wanabana and Schnucks. All three brands of products are related to what the FDA says is the same manufacturing facility in Ecuador, which the FDA says is inspecting.
My gut feeling is that they don't think this product will fall into a country with a sound regulatory process," Jones said. "They think this product will fall in places that don't have the ability to detect this kind of thing. ”
According to a report by Politico, the U.S. FDA suspects that the cinnamon contained in applesauce products is deliberately adulterated, "which is financially motivated." Typically, adulteration is done to improve the quality of the product while reducing the cost of production.
U.S. and Ecuadorian authorities are working together and have traced cinnamon to Negasmart, a company that has made a request to AustroFoods** spices, which produces applesauce bagged foods in Ecuador.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Negasmart is currently operating under the "Ecuadorian Administrative Sanctions Process."
Jones told Politico that food adulteration outside the U.S. "is always tricky to put an absolute stop in, especially if someone deliberately does it."
A spokesperson for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also told Politico: "We have limited control over foreign ingredient producers who don't ship directly to the U.S. because their food is further manufactured and processed before it can be exported." ”
But, he said, "we're going to go after that data, find out who is responsible, and hold them accountable." ”
In November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said samples of wanabana apple cinnamon puree products taken from the Dollar Tree chain detected extremely high levels of lead at 2 per kilogram18 mg, which is more than 200 times the level of action recommended in the FDA's draft guidance for purees and similar products intended for use in infants and young children.
So far, the results of sampling and analysis of Wernabana, Weiss and Schnookson fruit jam puffs that do not contain cinnamon and are not covered by the recall have shown that the lead levels are not beyond the normal range.
In an initial alert issued by the FDA about the recall, they mentioned that four children in North Carolina were among the first to be found to have high levels of lead in their blood to be linked to Wanabana products.
Currently, high blood lead levels in children are reported in 27 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration states that under the law, food manufacturers have a responsibility to prevent chemical hazards when necessary, and this includes measures to reduce or eliminate the presence of lead in products.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has warned families not to consume or ** these products and is encouraging them to throw away these packets or return them to the local store where they were purchased for a refund.
The CDC added that caregivers should bring any child who may have eaten these products for a blood test to test for lead exposure.
The CDC says lead is toxic to humans, especially children, and there is no safe level of exposure. Exposure can cause developmental delay in children. The first symptoms of lead poisoning may include headache, stomach and muscle pain, vomiting, anemia, irritability, fatigue, and weight loss.
*:p Olitico, December 14, 2023, Food and Drug Administration, Health Alert, December 18, 2023 and November 17, 2023.
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