Recalled applesauce pouches may have been purposely contaminated, FDA deputy commissioner says

Recalled applesauce contamination overview: 

• Who: U.S. Food and Drug Administration Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones told Politico he believes lead contamination that led to a recall of cinnamon applesauce pouches may have been intentional. 
• Why: Jones reportedly told Politico the FDA’s investigation pointed to the possibility the lead contamination may have been an “intentional act.” 
• Where: The lead contamination was linked to a manufacturing facility in Ecuador. 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s deputy commissioner for human foods reportedly said he believes recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches may have been intentionally contaminated with lead. 

The FDA’s Jim Jones reportedly told Politico that the agency’s investigation has pointed to the possibility that the lead contamination was an “intentional act” by someone within the supply chain. 

The recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches — which were sold under the brands WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis — were linked to a manufacturing facility located in Ecuador, according to the FDA. 

“My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” Jones said, as reported by Politico. “They thought it was going to end up in places that did not have the ability to detect something like this.”

The recall of the cinnamon applesauce pouches preceded an FDA investigation last month, with the agency looking into nearly two dozen reports of illnesses potentially linked to the recall. 

CDC and others trace source of lead contamination to cinnamon in recalled applesauce pouches

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, state and local health authorities and authorities from Ecuador traced the source of the lead contamination to the cinnamon in the recalled applesauce pouches, Politico reports. 

That cinnamon has been traced back to a company called Negasmart, according to the FDA, which said the company supplied the cinnamon to the Austrofoods manufacturing facility in Ecuador.

The FDA, meanwhile, said it is continuing to investigate a number of different theories about how the lead contamination occurred, and that, while it has not come to any conclusions at this time, it does believe the adulteration was “economically motivated,” according to Politico. 

More than 60 U.S. children younger than 6 have reportedly tested positive for lead poisoning after consuming the recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches, with some showing lead levels more than 500 times the acceptable amount, according to The Washington Post. 

Last month, WanaBana expanded its recall to include all lots of its Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée pouches and said it was working with the FDA to determine the cause of the lead contamination following four reports of illnesses. 

Have you been affected by the cinnamon applesauce pouches recall? What do you think of the applesauce potentially being intentionally contaminated with lead? Let us know in the comments.

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