Illinois’ Attorney General is calling on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to take urgent action to protect children from toxic metals in baby food.
In a letter sent to the FDA, Raoul and a coalition urge the FDA to issue specific guidance to the baby food industry to require testing of all finished food products for lead and other toxic metals.
According to a press release, the attorneys general cite recent findings of hundreds of childhood lead poisoning incidents linked to recalled cinnamon applesauce pouches that were sold in stores throughout the country.
Raoul and the coalition highlight recent widespread childhood lead poisonings related to high levels of lead detected in WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis brand cinnamon applesauce pouches that were not tested for toxic metals and have since been recalled. The pouches were sold in Dollar Tree stores throughout the country.
The CDC has identified nearly 400 confirmed or probable cases, including at least sixteen in Illinois.
Consumers may still have them in their homes and should not feed them to children or anyone else.
Joining Raoul in sending the letter are the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.