Lead-tainted applesauce recalled after poisoning hundreds of children: ‘A catastrophic failure’

The US Attorney General wants consumers off the sauce.

AG Josh Stein issued a warning to customers over recalled WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches after they were linked to 400 childhood lead poisoning cases.

“If you’ve purchased these recalled products and may still have them in your homes, do not feed them to children or anyone else,” read the recent food safety advisory.

Instead, watchdogs advised people to safely discard the products by carefully opening the pouch and “emptying the contents into the garbage.”

Meanwhile, parents are urged to contact a health care provider if they believe their child ingested or otherwise came into contact with these items.

The tainted applesauce in question had reportedly been sold in stores without being first tested for toxic metals, per the report.

This resulted in hundreds of children across 44 states getting poisoned with extreme doses of lead, which clocked in at six times higher than the average during the Flint Michigan water crisis.

The Food and Drug Administration initially blamed a spice grinder named Carlos Aguilar for adding the metals to the cinnamon — a common practice among shifty merchants looking to fudge the weight of their wares.

However, the FDA claimed they were able to nip the issue in the blood by recalling three million units of the product, the New York Times reported.

Unfortunately, it was later revealed that in the months preceding the recall, the tampered cinnamon had managed to bypass food safety checkpoints — including at the US Border — and missed being vetted for toxins.

“It’s amazing in a bad sense what a catastrophic failure this was,” lamented Neal Fortin, director of the Institute for Food Laws and Regulations at Michigan State University.

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Ben Cost

February 27, 2024 8:24 pm