FDA: Recalled applesauce pouches had elevated lead levels and another possible contaminant

Health officials investigating lead-contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches recalled in October say more cases have emerged and tests have revealed the food also contained the element chromium.

A naturally occurring element, chromium is a nutrient normally found in trace levels in our diets and can be found in vitamins and dietary supplements, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, there is a form of chromium that's a known carcinogen and it's found in lead chromate, a substance used to adulterate turmeric and other spices, the CDC says.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday it found chromium in two samples of cinnamon of 1201 and 531 parts per million (ppm) from the Austrofoods facility in Ecuador, where the recalled products – WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, Schnucks cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety packs, and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches – were produced.

A reanalysis of the recalled WanaBana Cinnamon Apple Puree samples found chromium at lesser levels: 0.590 and 0.566 ppm, the agency said. However, the testing is not precise enough to reveal which kind of chromium may have been used in the products, the FDA said.

Previous tests found the cinnamon contained as much as 2,000 times the proposed maximum level of allowable lead in food. The FDA's tests of recalled WanaBana cinnamon apple puree pouch collected from Dollar Tree found lead concentration of more than 200 times greater than the FDA's proposed level for products intended for babies and young children.

There's no safe level of lead in children's blood, according to the FDA and the CDC.

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What if someone ate recalled cinnamon applesauce with chromium?

The CDC recommends calling your health care provider for a blood test and other possible testing if you or your child may have eaten the recalled products. The CDC on Friday issued an update to health care providers about the situation, but you should tell your doctor about the chromium issue, too.

There's little research about the health effects from consuming food contaminated with chromium compounds such as lead chromate, the agency says. Patients could have abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, anemia, and kidney and liver dysfunction, the CDC says.

"I have never seen chromium being found in foods before, but we have also never seen these high of levels of lead either," food safety lawyer Bill Marler told USA TODAY. Marler said he is representing several families of children with elevated lead levels from the products.

"They are understandably scared about the impact on their children," Marler said. "I think this again underscores the need for the food industry and the FDA to do far better jobs at paying attention to the supply chain wherever it leads."

Number of those affected by recalled lead-tainted applesauce products grows

The FDA has increased to 87 the number of cases of illnesses potentially linked to the products; 31 states have reported cases, as of Jan. 8 – up from 69 cases in 28 states in mid-December. Originally, all impacted were under 6 years old. Now the ages affected include 53 years of age and the median age is 1 year old.

The CDC has received 321 reports of cases in 38 states – up from 205 in 33 states – in its tracking of the cinnamon applesauce lead poisoning outbreak. Of those cases:

• 86 are confirmed.
• 209 are probable.
• 26 are suspect.

To be included in the CDC numbers, the person must have high blood levels within three months of eating one of the products after November 2022. (The CDC and FDA may have different case numbers because they gather data differently.)

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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