The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on the 18th (local time) that a factory that processes Ecuadorian cinnamon used in processed foods such as apple sauce has 2,000 times the lead content of the raw material, causing heavy metal drinks to be made.
As a result, the FDA has ordered dozens of U.S. children to recall all of these products that have recently caused outbreaks, according to US media such as AP and Politico.
At the factory in question, the authorities’ test revealed that the lead content was more than 2,000 times the limit prohibited by the FDA, the inspectors said.
The company that exports this cinnamon as a sample of ground or fine powder is Ecuador’s Nega Smart Co., which has supplied it to the American Ostrofood Company, which produces fruit sauce and beverage pouches.
Apple sauce pouches manufactured and sold by the company have three brands: Wanabana, Schnucks, and Weiss.
The FDA said lead was not found in any of the Wanavana products sold in the U.S. that do not contain cinnamon. It’s also investigating how cinnamon can be contaminated with such a potent lead component, food director Jim Jones told Politico in an interview last week.
One of the hypotheses is that the cinnamon in question is contaminated with lead for economic reasons. In other words, substances such as red lead salt, lead oxide, and lead chromium condensed in the shape of a red brick are almost the same as the red color of cinnamon, so they were purposely added to increase the color and pungency of the product.
The FDA says it cannot directly investigate Ecuador’s Nega Smart company and has no choice but to ask Ecuadorian authorities to investigate the company.
According to the FDA, the products you buy are not directly exported to the United States, and the only customer of your smart in the United States is Austro Foods.
However, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children sickened by lead poisoning in 22 U.S. states has reached 125 since the end of October.
In a separate investigation, the FDA also announced that 65 children under the age of 6 in 27 states across the country had become ill as of December 8.
Children who became ill from apple juice pouches had blood lead levels eight times higher than the lowest level of concern. According to the FDA, a direct examination of the product’s samples showed that the level of lead was more than 200 times the lowest level allowed by the FDA.
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
