Wanabana, a children’s food retailer, issued a nationwide recall on October 29th, 2023, for their apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches due to elevated levels of lead being present. Vulnerable populations, like young children and pregnant women, who consume this product could develop acute lead poisoning.
Cinnamon is suspected to contain lead, perhaps done intentionally. The FDA is reporting lead levels 2,000 times above accepted levels in apple sauce products.
The FDA issued an advisory letter encouraging parents and caregivers to not buy Wanabana’s recalled products.
Our skilled product liability attorneys are aggressively investigating claims of lead poisoning associated with the consumption of recalled Wanabana products. David B. Rheingold, one of our lead attorneys in this litigation, can help you navigate the litigation process.
Call Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP today at (212) 684-1880 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with our product liability attorney in New York City. We serve clients nationwide.
Lead, a naturally occurring element, is found in many different places, like dust, air, soil, water and food. It is toxic to adults and children even at very low levels. The health effects of lead poisoning, which are outlined below, are well documented, but cases of lead contamination still arise.
The primary defendants are Wanabana LLC and Wanabana USA LLC (Coral Gables, FL). We also are looking at Schnuck Markets, Inc. (St. Loius, MO) and Weiss Markets, Inc. (Sunbury, PA). We are determining if the Ecuadorian supplier can be subject to United States courts: Negocios Asociados Mayoristas S.A., operating as Negasmart, (Quito, Ecuador).
Also, many retailers can be named as defendants. These include Walmart and Dollar Tree.
Various lead molecules are bright red and may have been added to the cinnamon. Compounds like red brick, red lead salt, lead oxide and lead chromate, which mirror cinnamon’s red color, have been added to increase the value of the spice. Sadly, many different spices can be laced with non-food substances that enhance color, taste and longevity.
There may be FALSE LABELING claims based on marketing stating that the products are “I AM ONLY FRUIT”, “NATURAL” and “EXTRAORDINARY STANDARDS.”
Long-term exposure for pregnant women can:
The Product Liability Department of Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP is diligently gathering information and updates regarding the recall of WanaBana, Weiss-brand and Schnucks-brand apple cinnamon fruit purée products. Below is a timeline of events.
Prompted by reports of elevated lead levels, Wanabana issues a voluntary recall of its WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée pouches. Read the full press release here.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration issued a recall and safety alert to parents and caregivers not to buy or feed WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches to children after the pouches were identified as a potential shared source of lead exposure.
The lead contamination of apple cinnamon fruit pouches warranted a health advisory from the CDC after “state partners tested multiple lots of the reported products, and test results indicated the products contained extremely high levels of lead.”
Voluntary recalls are also issued for Schnucks-brand cinnamon applesauce pouches and Weis-brand cinnamon applesauce pouches. Read our article here.
New reports that the lead was in the cinnamon and traced back to Negocios Asociados Mayoristas S.A., operating as Negasmart, a third-party distribution company located in Ecuador, as the cinnamon supplier.
A PubMed (nih.gov) report published in 2015 shows that researchers have done a scientific “look-back” and noted that Ecuador has been the source of high lead levels in children. In part, this has been linked to lead introduced into the environment from ceramic glazes. Investigations need to be conducted about the lead sources found in cinnamon plantations.
According to this report, “These findings further indicate that infants and young children exposed to Pb from Pb glazing of ceramics in Andean Ecuadorian villages exhibit greater potential metal-mediated poisoning than children of similar ages in Asia, Europe, other Latin American countries, and the United States.”
An earlier report, Blood lead and hemoglobin levels in Andean children with chronic lead intoxication – PubMed (nih.gov) 2000 notes “In conclusion, the results of this investigation indicate that the children in this Pb-contaminated, high altitude study area had chronic elevated PbB levels, which increased with age for males, and probable Pb-induced anemia.”
If you or someone you loved was injured by lead poisoning after consuming Wanabana, contact Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP. We start working with clients immediately to generate proof they used a dangerous product and continue to investigate and follow health status throughout the litigation process. You can call one of our New York injury lawyers at (212) 684-1880.
Contact Rheingold Giuffra Ruffo Plotkin & Hellman LLP today to speak with our product liability lawyer.
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