(NationRise.com) – A large discount retail chain in the US is facing scrutiny from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after it continued selling a contaminated children’s snack.
The FDA warned Dollar Tree, Inc. that it failed to remove Apple Cinnamon Fruit Pouches after WanaBana issued a voluntary recall. The fruit pouches contained dangerous amounts of chromium and lead. Dollar Tree stores were still selling the tainted fruit products 45 days after the recall was issued.
There have already been reports in 44 states of children suffering from increased levels of lead in their bloodstream. Many of those cases stemmed from apple sauce porches that are marketed as toddler food. The outbreak ended in April.
The recall was initially issued in October 2023. Dollar Tree continued selling the product until December. The FDA, in a bid to ensure public safety, partnered with several local and state governments to track the status of Dollar Tree’s compliance with the recall. This vigilance led to a Recall Audit Check, which confirmed the presence of the tainted products.
The letter issued by the FDA detailed several meetings with executives at Dollar Tree to go over the details of the recall. However, the agency also said it wasn’t enough. They also cited an incident in which a parent in Kitsap County, WA, was unable to purchase one of the pouches that was in stock because it had been recalled.
The FDA also issued a warning to consumers that tainted pouches were still available at Dollar Tree.
The US Centers for Disease Control has confirmed that there isn’t a “safe level of lead.”
The warning comes just months after cinnamon products carried by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar were also found to have elevated levels of lead. Those products included selections by WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis. Astrofood, a company in Ecuador, manufactured all of those food pouches. That contamination affected both children and adults. US officials said their ability to regulate foreign food manufacturers is limited.
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