Overview
This 2024 CDC MMWR report documents the outbreak investigation linking childhood lead poisoning in North Carolina (June 2023 – January 2024) to WanaBana brand apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches. The contamination source was identified as cinnamon from Ecuador adulterated with lead chromate.
Key numbers
Product concentration (Pb): WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches (recalled product): 1,900–5,800 µg/kg (1.9–5.8 ppm) Pb in recalled product batches. The FDA’s maximum action level for Pb in packaged fruit purées for infants/young children is 10 µg/kg (10 ppb) under FDA Closer to Zero guidance. The contaminated product ranged 190–580× that action level.
Cases: 22 confirmed cases in North Carolina; approximately 500 nationwide. Elevated blood lead levels in affected children. CDC investigation identified cinnamon as the contaminated ingredient; lead chromate (a yellow pigment used to adulterate spices for color/weight) was the form of lead present.
Methods
FDA product testing; CDC/state epidemiological investigation; blood lead testing of exposed children.
Key finding: This is an adulteration event, not a baseline agricultural Cd or As contamination scenario. The cinnamon was deliberately contaminated with lead chromate, likely for economic fraud (color or weight manipulation). The underlying product matrix (apple puree) had normal Pb levels; the cinnamon spice was the vector. This case is distinct from background Pb contamination in food supply and should not be used to characterize baseline Pb in fruit purees.
Implications
Certification: HMT&C spice sourcing and COA requirements must address the lead chromate adulteration risk in cinnamon and other spices from high-risk origins. This is a supply-chain integrity issue, not an agricultural concentration issue.
Courses: Illustrates the difference between background agricultural metal contamination and deliberate adulteration; underscores importance of supplier verification and testing.
App: Flag cinnamon as a high-risk spice ingredient for Pb adulteration from certain origins.
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Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 6 sections added; narrative text revised |