Some Dollar Tree stores nationwide continued to sell the recalled applesauce pouches for weeks after they had been recalled, due to a risk that cinnamon contained in the puree was tainted with toxic lead.
Lawsuit was filed by a New York woman, seeking class action damages for all consumers who purchased recalled WanaBana apple sauce, which has been linked to at least 73 lead poisoning cases among children.
Ingredients contaminated with high levels of lead may have been introduced to make the products more appealing, and to allow the manufacturer to sell the products for a lower price, FDA investigators speculate.
Officials believe the lead poisoning may be caused by cinnamon in the WanaBana, Weis and Schnucks apple sauce pouches, and additional sample testing is being performed to confirm the source.
To protect children from the risk of lead poisoning, water providers will be required to identify all lead pipes in their inventory, improve water sampling and will implement more stringent thresholds for action when lead is detected.
The ongoing investigation suggests that the lead contamination may have come from cinnamon made in Ecuador, which was used in each of the recalled fruit puree pouches.
Dangerous levels of toxic lead have been found in additional varieties of cinnamon fruit pouches, which have now sickened dozens of children in multiple states.
Plan will help meet the Biden-Harris Administration goal of removing all lead pipes from the country’s aging water system in the next ten years, which still pose risks of lead poisoning, especially for children.
At least four child lead poisoning cases have been linked to recalled WanaBana fruit puree pouches, which have been found to contain dangerous levels of toxic lead.
The WanaBana fruit puree pouches were found to contain dangerous levels of toxic lead, which may be responsible for at least four child lead poisoning illnesses.
