This picture offered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 28, 2023, exhibits a WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouch.
AP
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AP
This picture offered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Oct. 28, 2023, exhibits a WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouch.
AP
The Food and Drug Administration is urging mother and father and caregivers to not feed WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches to kids as a result of they could include excessive ranges of lead, which could be notably dangerous to children.
The puree pouches — no matter their expiration date — at the moment are the topic of a voluntary recall by WanaBana, which had bought them on-line and in individual by way of retailers reminiscent of Sam’s Club, Amazon and Dollar Tree.
“The firm is dedicated to making sure the protection of its merchandise and the well-being of its customers,” WanaBana mentioned in a press launch.
Children who’ve eaten the fruit pouches ought to get a blood check by way of their healthcare supplier, the FDA advised in a public well being alert.
The discovery of excessive lead ranges within the pouches got here out of an investigation by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services into elevated lead ranges in 4 kids residing within the state.
Investigators recognized the WanaBana puree pouches as a “potential shared supply of publicity.” The state then examined a number of plenty of the product and located that they contained “extraordinarily excessive concentrations of lead.”
WanaBana USA mentioned it was working to find out the supply of the lead contamination, and urged customers to cease utilizing the merchandise and return them to the unique place of buy for a full refund.
The firm didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for remark.
Children underneath age 6 are particularly susceptible to guide publicity, as a result of their our bodies are nonetheless growing, in response to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lead publicity can sluggish improvement, injury the mind and nervous system and trigger well being and behavioral issues.
Though lead publicity could be onerous to see, the FDA says signs from short-term publicity can embody complications, vomiting, belly ache and anemia, whereas longer-term lead publicity could result in irritability, fatigue, muscle aches, problem concentrating and extra.