Terrifying source of applesauce recall: NJ sends urgent alert

🔴 State health officials send alert about contaminated applesauce

🔴 Lead exposure can be devastating in young children

🔴 The potential source of contamination is horrifying

The New Jersey Department of Health is sounding a new alarm over toxic applesauce sold for kids.

Three million pouches of applesauce have been the target of a recall by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to contamination with lead.

Sold at dollar stores and other retailers and online outlets under the WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis brand names, the products have been linked to multiple illnesses in kids nationwide.

Products were produced at the Austrofoods facility in Ecuador. FDA investigators conducted a full inspection of the facility.

The recall included certain lots of the following products: WanaBana brand apple cinnamon fruit purée pouches; Schnucks brand cinnamon applesauce pouches; and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches.

"The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) urges residents, especially parents and caregivers, to take necessary precautions to protect against the dangers of lead exposure and poisoning, especially to the health of children," the department announced in a news release.

“Lead is toxic and can affect people of any age or health status, and its especially unsafe for younger children. There is no safe level of lead for children,” said Acting Commissioner of Health Dr. Kaitlan Baston.

Full recall information can be found on the FDA website.

Dozens of kids have fallen ill

The FDA announced this week that they had received at least 65 reports of kids getting sick from lead exposure and all of the victims were under the age of 6.

No cases have been positively identified in New Jersey. Eight cases have been reported in New York. One case confirmed in Pennsylvania.

As their children began showing signs of lead poisoning, many parents scrambled to identify a source.

Lead expose often comes from old paint or environmental contamination. That did not appear to be the case in most of the incidents.

FDA investigators eventually found a common exposure: the applesauce.

Horrifying potential source of contamination

The FDA revealed a shocking part of their investigation this week: the contamination may have been deliberate.

FDA deputy commissioner for human foods, Jim Jones, told Politico this may have been "an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain."

Jones says they are still trying to figure out the actual source.

If true, it would be a huge breach of food safety protocols that put the health and safety of countless children at risk.

Dangers and symptoms of lead exposure

State health officials have long warned of the dangers of lead exposure, especially in children.

Lead can cause long-term neurological deficits, and children are especially vulnerable because their nervous system is still developing.

According to the NJDOH, symptoms of lead toxicity include:

🔺 Short-term exposure could result in the following symptoms: headache; abdominal pain/colic; vomiting; anemia.

🔺 Longer term exposure could result in the following additional symptoms: irritability; lethargy; fatigue; muscle aches or muscle prickling/burning; constipation; difficulty concentrating/muscular weakness; tremor; weight loss.

🔺 Adults who have high blood level levels (BLLs) may be at increased risk for high blood pressure, other cardiovascular effects, kidney problems, adverse reproductive outcomes, and gout.

The DOH urges parents and caregivers of children who may have consumed recalled products should contact their child's health care provider about getting a blood test for lead.

Additionally, any child who exhibits the symptoms described above should get tested for lead exposure.

Information on how to get your child tested for lead exposure can be found HERE.

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