FDA Questions Whether Applesauce Pouches Were Contaminated Intentionally

As we’ve previously related on this blog, the United States Food and Drug Administration has recalled three applesauce products. These products include WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches, Schunks cinnamon applesauce pouches, and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches. The recall stems from the FDA’s investigation of dozens of acute lead poisonings in children that are associated with these brands of cinnamon applesauce pouches and the FDA continues to investigate. If your child suffered lead poisoning and you suspect it due to his or her consumption of these apple sauces, you should call the seasoned Chicago-based lawyers of Moll Law Group. Billions have been recovered in cases around the nation with which we’ve been involved.

Call Moll Law Group About Contaminated Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches

Over 60 children under the age of 6 have tested positive for lead poisoning after consuming the applesauce in the United States. Some of these children have been found to have over 500 times the acceptable threshold for lead. Standard blood screenings, which are recommended by the CDC to reduce lead exposure under age 6, helped identify those children who had elevated lead levels.

The FDA Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, Jim Jones, believes it’s possible that the contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches were intentionally tainted with lead. He’s explained that the evidence points to an intentional act by someone who is part of the supply chain for the pouches, which were sold under three different brands made in a manufacturing facility in Ecuador. The FDA is inspecting that facility. He has suggested that perhaps the perpetrator didn’t understand the pouches would end up in a country with strong, enforced regulations.

However, in the course of its investigation, the FDA has not reached conclusions about how the lead was added to the pouches or who added it. Its working belief is that the ingredients were changed to make cheap products seem more valuable. State and local Ecuadorian authorities, in partnership with the FDA, have traced the origin of the cinnamon used to flavor the applesauce, and believe it may be the source of the lead in the applesauce.

Negasmart supplies cinnamon to Austrofoods, the Ecuadorian food manufacturer. Negasmart’s cinnamon exceeded the Ecuadorian permissible lead levels, and it is now under an administrative sanctions process in that country. The FDA commented that the United States’s authority over foreign ingredient suppliers that don’t directly ship to the United States is limited because the food goes through still another manufacturing process before the final product is exported.

The FDA intends to track down the perpetrator responsible for lead poisoning of children. If your child has been made ill by the applesauce, you may have financial recourse by bringing a product liability lawsuit against companies in the supply chain. The addition of contaminated cinnamon may be considered a design defect, or a defect that exists in all specimens of the product. If contaminated cinnamon occurs only in certain batches or units, the harm done is likely compensable on the grounds that there is a manufacturing defect.

If your child was harmed by contaminated applesauce pouches, you should discuss his or her injuries and what happened with the knowledgeable product liability lawyers of Moll Law Group. We represent injured plaintiffs and grieving families across the country. Please complete our online form or call us at 312.462.1700.