Report: Lead poisoning in applesauce might be considered “intentional”
Sangolquí, Ecuador-based Austrofood was the manufacturer and marketer of the fruit puree pouches. Following an FDA investigation at Austrofoods’ plant, the agency has turned its attention to Negasmart SA, Quito, Ecuador, Austrofood’s source of cinnamon.
Mr. Jones told Politico, “My gut tells me they (the person who added the lead) didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process.” “They believed it would wind up somewhere where people could not detect something like this.”
The apple cinnamon fruit puree pouch recall was started by WanaBana on October 31. On November 9, the recall was extended to include private label versions that were sold by Schnucks and Weis. The items were recalled following an examination.
As of December 8, there were 46 verified cases of increased lead levels, 68 probable cases, and 11 suspect cases from 22 states, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It “is always going to be tricky to absolutely stop, if somebody has intent to purposely do something like this,” Mr. Jones said in an interview with Politico.
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Reliable figures that fully reflect the extent of economic adulteration worldwide are hard to come by. Earlier this year, the FDA estimated that the annual expenditures may be anywhere from $10 billion to $40 billion.
A variety of goods promoted under the USDA’s organic standards, as well as specific goods or categories like honey, maple syrup, beef, olive oil, juices, shellfish, and spices, are frequently linked to deliberate misrepresentation in food and drink. The FDA released sampling data for imported honey from 2021 and 2022 in December 2022. The data showed that 10% of the samples had less costly additional sweeteners, such as cane and maize syrups, that had not been stated.