In recent months, there have been many reports about lead found in applesauce and other fruit pouches that are marketed as being for children. Now, as reported by Marcia Brown and Meredith Lee Hill at Politico, it seems as though the tainted pouches "that have sickened scores of children in the U.S may have bee purposefully contaminated with lead, according to FDA's Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods Jim Jones."
In an exclusive interview with Politico, Jones remarked that "all of the signals we're getting lead to an intentional action on the part of someone in the supply chain." The brands involved include Weis, WanaBana and Schucks which are "all linked to a manufacturing facility in Ecuador," where the FDA is currently conducting an investigation. Jones's theory is that if the act was indeed intentional, then it was never intended to "end up in a country with a robust regulatory process" and that the assumption is that the "adulteration is economically motivated." It is thought that the cinnamon may be the source of the lead. The Washington Post reported that "more than 60 U.S children under the age of six have tested positive for lead poisoning after consuming the pouches — some at levels more than 500 times the acceptable threshold for lead," as per Brown and Hill.
The cinnamon itself has been traced to Negasmart, a supplier of Austrofoods, an Ecuadorian food manufacturer. Jones ensures that the FDA is "going to chase down the data and find whoever was responsible and hold them accountable"
