The harmful levels of lead in apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches prompted the FDA to work with Austrofood to quickly voluntarily recall the impacted product. Austrofood is the manufacturer of the recalled pouches and manufactured the pouches at the company’s Ecuadorian facility. The FDA’s leading hypothesis is that the contamination of the cinnamon was an act of economically motivated adulteration. The FDA has initiated additional efforts to prevent future lead-related incidents, including looking closely at cinnamon and other spices in our food supply, especially those in foods that babies and young children often consume. On Aug. 9, the FDA issued a warning letter to Austroffod. The FDA also focused on implementing a strategic, long-term iterative approach to reducing childhood dietary exposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. The FDA is asking Congress for the authority to establish binding contamination limits in foods. The FDA also seeks authority to require the industry to test final products for contaminants and maintain records that the FDA could remotely access and review. Additionally, the FDA is seeking to expand the agency’s mandatory recall authority to mandate recalls for more contaminated foods or ingredients. The FDA has also placed Negasmart, the distributor of the cinnamon used in the contaminated applesauce products, on multiple import alerts. The FDA is dedicated to enhancing the safety of cinnamon, ground spices, and other products sold in the US, reducing dietary exposure to heavy metals, and working with federal and state partners to reduce contaminant levels in food products, particularly those consumed by babies and young children. @ https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-warning-letter-austrofood-and-continues-robust-activities-ensure-safety-cinnamon-products?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
