Many parents reach for fruit bags whenever their children ask for a quick snack. These travel-friendly, resealable snacks are made with fruit puree designed to satisfy children's hunger in a hurry. They come in eye-catching packaging and are sweetened to suit children's tastes.
But the fruit pouch isn't as big as it looks. In addition to being an inferior substitute for real fruit and fresh fruit juice, these seemingly harmless snacks have been found to be contaminated with extremely high levels of lead, which can be detrimental to your child's health.
FDA recalls three brands of fruit pouches due to lead contamination
In October 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned parents and guardians not to purchase WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree Pouches after it was discovered that the snack contained high levels of lead.One According to the FDA:2
“Parents and guardians of infants and children who may have consumed WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree Pouches should contact their child’s doctor to obtain a blood test.
Lead is toxic to humans and can affect people of any age or health condition. Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to maintaining their lifelong health.”
healthy holistic lifethree Serious cases of lead poisoning linked to these fruit bags have been reported in at least five states, including Arizona, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri and North Carolina.
WanaBana has voluntarily recalled fruit puree pouches that were sold at grocery chains like Dollar Tree and online retailers like Amazon. Based on these findings, the FDA4 It also announced recalls for two brands of fruit pouches: Schnucks Cinnamon Flavored Applesauce Pouches and Variety Packs and Weis Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches. As reported by Healthy Holistic Living:5
Schnucks, one of the affected brands, reported that its supplier, Purcell International, notified Austrofood SAS, maker of applesauce cinnamon pouches, of elevated lead levels in the cinnamon raw material it uses.
We urge consumers who purchased the apple cinnamon fruit pouches subject to the recall to immediately discard the products and refrain from consuming the products.”
A local state investigation revealed cause for concern.
Suspicion that fruit bags could contaminate children arose after local health experts with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) identified elevated lead levels in four children, indicating acute lead toxicity.
“A dedicated health expert at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services named Alan Huneycutt was instrumental in determining the cause. His research on children’s environmental health really made a difference.” Healthy Holistic Living Report.6
Using special tools used to identify lead in paint, the NCDHHS team investigated a variety of factors that could cause high lead levels in children's environments. We looked at various factors such as the children's homes, paint, dust, dirt, and water, but found nothing unusual.
They considered testing the product after interviewing a mother of one child who revealed that one of the foods her children regularly eat was Wanabana fruit pouches. Once NCDHHS confirmed that the lead source came from fruit bags, it immediately reported its findings to the FDA.
Contaminated fruit bags had lead levels 200 times higher than permitted levels
As of December 2023, we have identified 82 complaints of adverse reactions reported to the FDA regarding lead-contaminated fruit snacks. The number increased to 136 by March 2024, with '345 suspected patients and 38 suspected patients.' That brings the total to 519 cases in 44 states, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.7
“Previously reported test results for samples of recalled WanaBana cinnamon apple puree pouches collected by Dollar Tree showed a lead concentration of 2.18 ppm, which for context is more than 200 times higher than the FDA’s proposed action level of 0.01 ppm. In the draft guidance on fruit purees and similar products intended for infants and young children. FDA report.
According to a USA Today article,8 The contamination was traced back to an Austrofoods processing plant in Ecuador where the cinnamon used in all three brands was produced. Helena Bottemiller Evich, founder and editor-in-chief of Food Fix, says:
“Cinnamon has a history of lead contamination, whether through soil absorption by the plant, environmental exposure, or other substances mixed with cinnamon powder. But the levels here are likely off the charts compared to levels typically found.”9
The FDA is also investigating the possibility that lead contamination may have been caused by “economically motivated adulteration.” This is when “someone intentionally removes, subtracts, or substitutes a valuable ingredient or part of a food product.” An example is the use of lead-based dyes to improve the color and appearance of spices such as turmeric or chili powder.10
Symptoms of Lead Toxicity
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)11 Children who have consumed lead-contaminated fruit bags report experiencing the following symptoms:
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headache |
sickness |
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diarrhea |
throw up |
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anemia |
changes in activity level |
Other potential symptoms include abdominal pain, muscle pain, fatigue, irritability, and weight loss.12 However, in more extreme cases, such as when a child is repeatedly exposed to large amounts of lead, more severe symptoms may occur.
Lead has a cumulative effect on multiple organ systems, and young children are particularly vulnerable to its effects.13 Once inside a child's body, it can spread to the kidneys, brain, liver and bones, causing hematological, gastrointestinal and neurological effects. Seizures, encephalopathy, and coma may also occur, which may lead to brain damage.14
One in three children worldwide have high lead levels.
There is no doubt that lead poisoning is now a serious public health problem, and it is truly appalling to see the toxic levels of this harmful heavy metal in foods intended for children. But this was a long-term concern. For many years, lead has been used in a variety of industrial applications such as paint, cable, battery manufacturing, and gasoline additive manufacturing.15
In 2020, UNICEF and Pure Earth released a report titled ‘The Toxic Truth’.16 Exploring the severity of lead contamination in children around the world. According to UNICEF,17 Children around the world are suffering from lead poisoning on a “previously unknown scale.”
report18 It states that one in three children have a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (ug/dL) or more, requiring immediate action. Up to 800 million children worldwide may be at serious risk from lead exposure, nearly half of whom live in South Asia.
However, the CDC identifies a blood reference value of 3.5 ug/dL as potentially dangerous. This means the report's estimates are much higher. This is devastating because it can cause further damage to a child's growing body. According to a 2023 study published in Environmental Advances:19
“Children are more vulnerable to lead than adults for a number of reasons, including the fact that children constantly put their hands in their mouths, the fact that children’s intestines absorb lead more readily than adults, and the fact that children’s (central nervous system) CNS is more susceptible to lead than adults. Children who are more susceptible are still developing.”
Lead levels in adults are also a concern.
In adults, the damage may seem much less severe than in children, but it can progress to serious health problems, including cardiovascular complications and even death.
Paper published in The Lancet in 201820 They found that lead contamination in adults was associated with a higher risk of death. One in five deaths and more than one in four cardiovascular deaths are associated with lead toxicity. Lead contamination may also put you at risk for:
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Low sperm count, sex drive, and other reproductive problems21 |
headache22 |
seizure23 |
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hearing and vision problems24 |
High blood pressure25,26 |
neurological disorder27 |
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muscle and joint pain28 |
brain damage29 |
Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease30 |
World Health Organization (WHO)31 They say there is no safe level of exposure. This is a very powerful toxin that even at low levels of exposure can inhibit cognitive development, reducing and shortening IQ scores. It may also increase the risk of violent and criminal behavior later in life.32
Additionally, lead can have effects that span multiple generations. Chronic exposure, even at low levels, can cause health effects, but symptoms may not appear until several years after exposure. Research has proven that it leads to:33
- Impairs nitric oxide signaling.
- Promotes inflammation
- Modifies the renin-angiotensin system.
- Interferes with vascular smooth muscle calcium signaling.
- Increases superoxide and hydrogen peroxide in endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells.34
How to remove lead from the body
Whether you have been exposed to high or low levels of lead, the first step you should take is to get tested. Ideally, get tested at ages 1 and 2 and again at ages 3 and 4. The CDC notes that a child's lead level above 3.5 μg/dL is a concern.35 Adult Blood Lead Epidemiology and Surveillance (ABLES)36 Anything above 5 μg/dL is considered dangerous.
If your levels are high, seek guidance from a qualified medical professional who can help you eliminate the toxins without causing more harm. Chelation therapy with edetate disodium (EDTA) is one option.
EDTA is a substance that binds calcium and some heavy metals. However, it also releases important minerals in the body. Therefore, your nutritional status should be monitored by your doctor.
N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC), a precursor to glutathione that the body uses for efficient detoxification, is also an ideal choice. You can also try sauna bathing. This is a non-toxic strategy that helps remove lead and other toxins from the body.
Remove lead-containing items from your home and test your drinking water.
In addition to taking the necessary steps to detoxify lead from your body, you must also ensure that you are not adding any more lead. It is important to pinpoint the local source of exposure, especially to avoid harmful effects on your children. “The problem is further complicated by the fact that in many cases children are exposed to more than one source,” the UNICEF report said.37 situation.
The most common sources of lead inside and outside the home include cigarette smoke, jewelry, toys, cosmetics, and clothing. Lead paint from older homes is another common culprit, especially if you live in a home built before 1978. Even dust can be highly toxic and must be professionally removed.
It is also important to test your drinking water for lead. Across the United States, millions of old water pipes are made of lead, and when they corrode, they can allow contaminated water to enter your home every day.
US Environmental Protection Agency38 Structures built before 1986 are most likely to have lead plumbing pipes. Brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and pipes with lead solder are also sources of contamination.
Because lead cannot be seen, tasted, or smelled when dissolved in water, it is important to ensure that the water does not contain harmful amounts of lead. The safest and most economical choice to remove lead from your water supply is to use a high-quality filter rated for lead removal. Always use cold, filtered water for drinking or cooking, and never use unfiltered water to mix infant formula.
