Cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches sold in grocery and dollar stores last year poisoned hundreds of American children with extremely high doses of lead, leaving anxious parents to watch for signs of brain damage, developmental delays and seizures. The Food and Drug Administration, citing Ecuadorean investigators, said a spice grinder was likely responsible for the contamination and said the quick recall of three million applesauce pouches protected the food supply. Children in 44 states ate the tainted applesauce, some of which contained lead at extraordinarily high levels. and a food-safety law that gives companies, at home and abroad, wide latitude on what toxins to look for and whether to test. “Largely, the food supply regulatory system is based on an honor system.”

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Persons: ”, Neal Fortin Organizations: Drug Administration, The New York Times, Institute for Food Laws, Michigan State University, “