The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has allegedly proposed that apple sauce pouches shipped from Ecuador might have been intentionally tainted with lead.
The FDA is currently conducting an on-site inspection at a facility in Ecuador in response to 65 reported cases of adverse effects linked to the recalled cinnamon apple sauce products in the United States.
Products from WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis have been subject to recalls.
The cinnamon has been traced by US and Ecuadorian authorities to Negasmart, the supplier for Austrofood, a food manufacturer in Ecuador. According to reports, Ecuadorian authorities assert that Negasmart’s cinnamon surpassed the permitted lead levels in the country.
According to Politico reports, the FDA has stated that Negasmart is currently undergoing an “Ecuadorian administrative sanctions process.”
Jim Jones, the FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, informed Politico that “all the indications” suggest that this contamination was a deliberate act carried out by someone in the supply chain.
“My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” Jones said. “They thought it was going to end up in places that did not have the ability to detect something like this.”
An FDA spokesperson told the publication, “We have limited authority over foreign ingredient suppliers that do not directly ship product to the US because their food undergoes further manufacturing/processing prior to export.”
As reported by Politico, the FDA has stated that it presently suspects the adulteration to be “economically motivated.”
The agency recommends individuals who consumed the applesauce to undergo testing for lead exposure.
