US FDA Recall Applesauce Pouches Tainted with Lead

The US Food and Drug Administration has expanded its investigation into tainted cinnamon products, and its experts now say that the lead contamination extends beyond the cinnamon applesauce pouches that were recalled in October.

The agency said Wednesday, March 6, that expanded testing has identified several brands of ground cinnamon with elevated levels of lead.

The FDA says that more than 460 confirmed and suspected cases of lead poisoning have been tied to applesauce pouches sold under the WanaBana, Schnucks or Weis brands that were flavored with cinnamon imported from Ecuador. Those cases, many of them in children, are still under investigation.

The agency said Wednesday that it has sent a letter to all US cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors and facility operators to remind them of their obligation to prevent contamination.

It has also expanded its testing to brands of ground cinnamon from discount retailers and analyzed those samples for lead and chromium. Based on its survey, the FDA is recommending recalls of ground cinnamon from six distributors.

Although the levels of lead found in the ground cinnamon products are far lower than what was found in some cinnamon applesauce pouches, the agency is advising consumers that prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe.

The FDA has advised manufacturers to recall these products and says consumers who have them at home should stop using them and throw them away.

The brands are:

La Fiesta, lot 25033

Marcum, best by 10/16/25 and 4/06/25, sold at Save A Lot

MTCI Swad, lot KX21223

Supreme Tradition, best buy dates from 4/25 through 9/25, sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar

El Chillar, F275EX1026 and D300EX1024

The concentrations of lead in the ground cinnamon products ranged from 2 to 3.4 parts per million, according to the FDA; the concentrations of lead found in the cinnamon applesauce pouches were thousands of times higher: between about  2,300 parts per million and about 5,100 parts per million.

Extended or extreme exposure to lead can seriously harm a child's health and cause well-documented adverse effects such as:

Damage to the brain and nervous system

Slowed growth and development

Learning and behavior problems

Hearing and speech problems

This can cause:

Lower IQ

Decreased ability to pay attention

Underperformance in school

There is also evidence that childhood exposure to lead can cause long-term harm.

Lead exposure in children is often difficult to see. Most children have no obvious immediate symptoms. If there's suspicion that a child may have been exposed to lead, parents should talk to their child's healthcare provider about getting a blood lead test. Healthcare providers and most local health departments can test for lead in the blood. Many private insurance policies cover the cost of testing for lead in the blood. The cost of blood lead testing for children enrolled in Medicaid is covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The health effects of exposure are more harmful to children less than six years of age because their bodies are still developing and growing rapidly. Young children also tend to put their hands or other objects, which may be contaminated with lead dust, into their mouths, so they are more likely to be exposed to lead than older children.

Most people have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure. The CDC and FDA says that someone who may have been exposed to elevated levels of lead should talk to a health care provider.