The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed on Thursday that it has traced the origin of the elevated lead and chromium levels found in Wanabana fruit puree pouches.
The affected products—cinnamon-flavored applesauce and apple puree pouches from the brands WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis—were voluntarily recalled by its manufacturer Wanabana in November last year, after certain units of the products were found to contain elevated levels of lead.
The products are often used by consumers to prepare meals for babies. As a result, the average age of those affected by lead poisoning was 12 months, the FDA said. The oldest complainant was 53.
The FDA’s investigation has now determined that the cinnamon sourced from manufacturer Austrofoods in Ecuador was contaminated with lead chromate—a yellow to orange chemical compound that has historically been used as a pigment in paints due to its bright color.
However, lead chromate also has a history of being used as an adulterant, added to certain spices to increase their weight and enhance their color, which increases the monetary value of the spices, the FDA said.
The FDA said that it has limited authority over foreign ingredient suppliers who do not ship directly to the United States.
“The FDA has limited ability to take direct action with Negasmart (the supplier of cinnamon to Austrofoods) or Carlos Aguilera (the processor of the cinnamon sticks),” the agency said in a statement.
Officials of the Ecuadorian regulatory agency Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (ARCSA) were able to confirm that Carlos Aguilera, the likely source of contamination, is no longer in operation at this time.
Cinnamon sticks recently sampled by the ARCSA were found to have no lead contamination, and no further reports of lead or chromium poisoning have been filed with the FDA after Feb. 27.
The FDA said it “has no indication” that this issue extends beyond the recalled products.
Given that the contaminated products have a long shelf life, the agency urged consumers to check their inventories and immediately discard the products.
To prevent others from salvaging the discarded products from the trash, consumers and retailers are advised to empty the pouches in the trash before discarding the packaging.
Most children have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure. If there’s suspicion that a child may have been exposed to lead, parents should consider a blood test to determine proper medical follow-up, the FDA said.
Chromium is a naturally occurring element that exists predominantly in two forms: Chromium (III) and Chromium (VI). The former is an essential trace nutrient important to the diet, the FDA said on its website, though it can be toxic at high levels. Chromium (VI), a constituent of lead chromate, is considered an unacceptable food ingredient.
The toxicity of lead is well known and has been extensively documented. Acute poisoning can lead to headaches, abdominal pain, vomiting, and anemia, and is known in severe cases to cause convulsions, coma, and even death.
Long-term exposure may lead to weight loss, constipation, chronic kidney disease, etc. Lead also affects the nervous system, leading in severe cases to behavioral changes such as reduced attention span and increased antisocial behavior.
“Young children are particularly vulnerable to lead poisoning because they absorb 4–5 times as much ingested lead as adults from a given source,” a WHO fact sheet listed.
The CDC has in total received reports of 111 confirmed cases of elevated lead levels in the blood, 320 probable cases, and 37 suspected cases for a total of 468 cases from 44 different states.
