For months, a Wake Forest family says they were in a panic after extreme levels of lead were found in their infant daughter’s blood.
A lawsuit filed by Eric and Heather Goolsby says the high levels of lead were caught during a regularly scheduled checkup. The child was tested for lead exposure as part of a mandatory program for 1-year-old children.
The suit says the lead content of the girl’s blood was 20 mcg/dL. A normal level should be less than 3.5 mcg/dL.
Wake County Health and Human Services visited the Goolsby’s home multiple times, testing water, soil, air, clothing, paint and vehicles to find the source. Even a grandparent’s home was tested, but nothing turned up.
When the FDA issued an alert for WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree Pouches, the Goolsbys knew that was it. They’d given dozens of those pouches to their daughter.
Within days, they filed the lawsuit against WanaBana, proposing to make it a class action.
Heather Goolsby told 5 On Your Side’s Keely Arthur that the lawsuit is not about the money, it’s about alerting families and holding the manufacturers accountable.
WanaBana says the investigation into the source of the lead is currently focused on cinnamon, as all other ingredients have been cleared.
In addition to the recall of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Puree, Schnucks Markets and Weis Markets announced recalls of certain cinnamon applesauce products because they may contain high levels of lead.
The FDA alert on these products details which specific lots and expiration dates are under recall.
This investigation began in North Carolina, where health officials started looking into reports of four children with elevated blood levels linked to the WanaBana product. State health officials analyzed multiple lots of the product and detected “extremely high” concentrations of lead. The FDA confirmed the results.
Parents and caregivers should not buy or serve the cinnamon applesauce products, which are sold through multiple retailers, including Amazon and Dollar Tree.
Lead is toxic to people of all ages, but can be especially harmful to children. Most children have no obvious symptoms, so it’s important that kids who are exposed get tested to check levels of lead in their blood. Short-term exposure to lead can result in symptoms that include headache, abdominal pain, vomiting and anemia, the FDA said.
The CDC says longer exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health, including damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, learning and behavior problems, and hearing and speech problems.
Lisa Gill, an investigative reporter with Consumer Reports, says testing has long shown spices are a source of heavy metal contamination and right now, there’s an investigation to find out how wide spread the contamination tied to WanaBana might be.
"We know that the CDC is actively involved. We know a lot of testing is going on. And they’re trying to trace back what looks to me like the source of the cinnamon as well as where else the cinnamon might appear," Gill told 5 On Your Side.
Consumer Reports has posted an extensive article about their testing of heavy metals in baby food and even classified specific foods that are more or less concerning to give to young children.
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Fruit pouches blamed for Wake Forest child's high lead levels - WRAL News
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