Parents Grapple with Anxiety over Children’s Health Due to Lead-Poisoned Fruit Snacks

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Parents Grapple with Anxiety over Children’s Health Due to Lead-Poisoned Fruit Snacks

When Morgan Shurtleff’s one-year-old daughter, Cora Dibert, attended a routine blood test in October, she brought along her new favorite treat – a WanaBana cinnamon apple puree pouch. Little did her mother, a 26-year-old resident of Elgin, Oklahoma, know that this snack was the source of a worrying health crisis.

Just days later, the family was alerted to Cora’s dangerously high lead levels, almost quadruple the concerning threshold. It was eventually linked to the fruit puree bought from Dollar Tree.

Cora’s case is not isolated. Across the United States, numerous children have been affected by lead poisoning traced back to these cinnamon-flavored fruit puree pouches. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported over 200 cases in 33 states, while the Food and Drug Administration has identified 69 cases in children under six across 28 states as of mid-December.

Investigations revealed shockingly high levels of lead in the puree, with some samples exceeding FDA permissible limits by 200 times. Concerningly, the cinnamon used in the puree production, sourced from Ecuador, contained lead levels over 2,000 times higher than proposed FDA standards. The FDA has not ruled out the possibility of intentional contamination, a practice known in the spice industry for economic gain.

Parents like Shurtleff are not only angered but deeply worried about the irreversible impact of lead on their children’s development. Lead poisoning, as explained by Dr. Jennifer Sample, a pediatric toxicologist, can result in lasting cognitive and behavioral issues due to its disruptive effect on vital nutrients in brain cells.

Children like Cora, Arian Al-Khaled from Nebraska, and Jamari from New York, have shown elevated lead levels after consuming these pouches. Their families are now faced with the daunting task of long-term monitoring and intervention, focusing on diets rich in vitamin D, calcium, and iron, and providing a stimulating environment for brain development.

The Al-Khaled family, among others, has taken legal action against WanaBana LLC. The fear of long-term harm looms large for these families, even as lead levels in affected children show signs of decreasing.

The situation has raised alarms about the availability of these products, with reports of some Dollar Tree stores still stocking the recalled pouches. The company has since implemented measures to prevent sales and ensure the removal of these products from shelves.

Shurtleff, now vigilant, recently prevented another child from consuming the recalled product, highlighting the ongoing need for awareness among parents and caregivers.

This report is a part of the comprehensive coverage by the Big Big News Health and Science Department, supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group, with the AP maintaining full responsibility for the content.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Lead Poisoning in Children

More about Lead Poisoning in Children

• CDC Lead Poisoning Prevention
• FDA Food Safety Guidelines
• Lead Exposure in Children Health Effects
• Legal Action in Product Safety Cases
• Nutritional Management of Lead Poisoning
• Understanding Lead Contamination in Spices