Lead-contaminated applesauce sailed through holes in the food safety system
The tainted applesauce might have gone unnoticed for even longer had there not been a family in North Carolina.
Early last summer, Nicole Peterson and Thomas Duong were alerted to the lead levels in the blood of their young children during a routine examination. Within weeks the levels had doubled.
Mrs. Peterson said the couple worked with the local health department as they tried to determine what could be hurting their children. We “don’t sleep and we don’t eat – as if this is driving us crazy,” Ms. Peterson said. She and her husband filed a lawsuit against Dollar Tree, where they purchased the applesauce, and WanaBana, a U.S. distributor controlled by Austrofood officials.
A spokeswoman for Dollar Tree said the company is committed to the safety of the products it sells. Austrofood said it relied on its supplier’s certification and that none of its other products have been recalled.
Their three-year-old daughter, a fierce, smart girl who loves frilly dresses and nail polish, had a blood lead level of 24 micrograms per deciliter, nearly seven times the CDC’s level of concern. Her younger brother, an easy-going toddler who loves loud trucks and dance music, had reached level 21.
Public health investigators searched their home and daycare center but were unable to find the source. When the parents’ blood tests came back normal, they began to suspect one food only the children were eating: foil packets of cinnamon applesauce.
North Carolina health officials tested them and found extraordinarily high lead levels.
That prompted the FDA to take action.
In search of the Source
At the end of October, Austrofood recalled millions of applesauce bags. The FDA has said it believes this action has eliminated contaminated cinnamon from the U.S. food supply.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 400 infants and toddlers have been poisoned. The average test result was six times the level found in the water crisis caused by lead pipes a decade ago in Flint, Michigan.
Flint exposure lasted longer and its long-term effects have proven difficult to quantify. But years later, the number of students in the city qualifying for special education doubled.
Earlier this month, the FDA said Ecuadorian researchers believe the cinnamon was likely contaminated by Carlos Aguilera, who ran a spice mill. Ecuador’s health agency filed an administrative complaint against Mr. Aguilera, saying he had operated without a license and used broken machines that increased the risk of impurities, records show. The complaint is being processed.
Ecuadorian officials seized packaged cinnamon from Mr. Aguilera’s customers who tested positive for lead, according to inspection reports and interviews.
But investigators found no contaminated cinnamon at Mr. Aguilera, the data shows. In an interview with reporters, he denied adding lead chromate.
Austrofood is not explicitly required to test its products for lead. Under FDA regulations, companies may only identify likely food safety hazards and develop plans to address them.
Austrofood had a plan, but according to FDA data, lead was not among the expected risks.
After the lead poisoning, the FDA cited Austrofood for failing to identify lead as a hazard, the agency’s records show.