This photo provided by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows pouches of WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree (L), Schnucks cinnamon-flavored applesauce (C), and Weis cinnamon applesauce (R). On Monday, Nov. 13, 2023, U.S. health officials are warning doctors to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in children after at least 22 toddlers in 14 states were sickened by lead linked to tainted pouches of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce. Brands include WanaBana brand apple cinnamon fruit puree and Schnucks and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. The products were sold in stores and online. (Photo: FDA)
WASHINGTON (7News) —
A disturbing update about a widely sold fruit pouch identified as making more than 20 toddlers sick because of ‘extremely’ high concentrations of toxic lead.
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7News Senior Investigative Reporter, Lisa Fletcher, has discovered kids are getting sick faster than the FDA is reporting it to the public.
At least 22 toddlers have been sickened by the fruit pouches, and if your child ate them you’re being urged to get them a blood test.
Wanabana apple cinnamon pureed fruit pouches, and Schnucks and Weis brand pouches of the same flavor were recalled for high concentrations of lead, known to damage the brain, kidneys and nervous system.
Lisa: How serious is it when the FDA says, get your kids tested, if they consumed this product?
Tom: It's really serious because the levels were so high. We discovered what the FDA is reporting may not be the full picture.
We reached out to every state health department in America to see how they were handling this and how many cases they’ve identified. A total of 26 responded, leading us to two states that were not identified by the FDA as having cases: Virginia and Minnesota.
Virginia told 7News they have one case, and Minnesota, three. Plus, we found an additional case in Maryland and two more in New York. The FDA has been promising to set lead limits in baby food products for more than two years, but it hasn’t happened.
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On Monday, 7News will take a close look at the latest example of toxic heavy metals in food for little ones and ask why there are still no standards and testing requirements in place.
