Officials in Ecuador have named the likely source of contaminated ground cinnamon used in fruit pouches tied to more than 400 potential cases of lead poisoning in U.S. children, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.
Carlos Aguilera, a cinnamon-processing company in Ecuador, supplied the spice added to WanaBana and other applesauce pouches sent to the U.S., according to the Ecuadorian regulatory agency ARCSA.
The cinnamon, which was sent to another supplier, Negasmart, was found to be contaminated with high levels of lead and chromium, an FDA analysis showed.
The unprocessed cinnamon sticks used in the products were originally imported from Sri Lanka.
The sticks were tested and found to have no lead contamination, ARCSA told FDA.
Persons:
Carlos Aguilera, ARCSA
Organizations:
Food and Drug Administration, FDA, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP
Locations:
Ecuador, U.S, Ecuadorian, Sri Lanka