EGG-NEWS has previously reported on lead contamination of applesauce puree seasoned with cinnamon. An FDA safety alert was issued on October 28th. To date 125 reports of lead poisoning from 22 states (but possibly over 200 case from 33 states) have been documented by the CDC. Investigations have implicated the WanaBana brand distributed nationally by Amazon, dollar stores and Sam's Club and the same product sold under private brands by two supermarket chains. Despite the October FDA warning and subsequent recall, the product was recently identified on shelves at Dollar Tree stores and is probably still in home pantries.
The Food and Drug Administration has determined that there was lead contamination of cinnamon supplied by Austrofoods in Ecuador. The enigma is that the level of lead in the finished product is approximately 500 times the tolerance amount, stated in one report to be 200 ppm. The level in the cinnamon additive has been assayed at between 2,200 and 5,100 ppm. Assuming an average lead value of 3,000 ppm in the spice and 200 ppm in the puree as consumed, the addition rate of the cinnamon additive would have to be 7% of the final product. This seems unlikely and suggests that the lead in the puree might not have all come from the cinnamon additive. At this time, deliberate contamination is suspected but without any substantiation.
As with all investigations conducted by an agency with profound problems of internal communication and inability to respond rapidly, officials have only this past week conducted an onsite inspections of the implicated plant in Ecuador. At issue is an understanding of the possible routes of contamination. A corollary to the incident is to ascertain whether MegaSmart the supplier of Cinnamon to Austrofoods has provided any other U.S. manufacturer with cinnamon that may or may not be contaminated with lead.
The need for a dedicated food safety agency is indicated by the inability of federal agencies to even determine the number of children affected. Data is collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and various state agencies. Correlation of data including clinical and product assays is complicated by fragmented jurisdiction.