Recalled applesauce pouches which resulted in numerous children falling ill with lead poisoning, may have been intentionally tainted, as per statements from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Jim Jones, the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods, mentioned that although the investigation is ongoing, indications suggest the possibility of an intentional act to contaminate the applesauce puree.
“We’re still in the midst of our investigation,” stated Jim Jones in an interview with Politico. “But so far, all of the signals we’re getting lead to an intentional act on the part of someone in the supply chain, and we’re trying to sort of figure that out.”
The three brands involved—Weis, WanaBana, and Schnucks—all have connections to a manufacturing facility in Ecuador. This facility is currently under inspection by the FDA. Jones expressed the belief that the facility might not have anticipated that the contaminated applesauce would find its way into countries with stringent regulatory processes. Recalled applesauce pouches
“My instinct is they didn’t think this product was going to end up in a country with a robust regulatory process,” Jones said. “They thought it was going to end up in places that did not have the ability to detect something like this.”
The FDA has continued to look into a number of theories as to why and by whom the applesauce was contaminated, but the agency currently believes it was economically motivated. Essentially, ingredients could have been altered to make products appear higher in value in order to sell them for a higher price.
Jones told Politico that despite the United States’ existing food safety laws, intentional contamination is always going to be hard to “absolutely stop.