Latest news with #BabyFood
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Health
- Time of India
Publix recalls baby food pouches after testing finds elevated levels of lead
New York: The supermarket chain Publix has recalled fruit and vegetable baby food sold in eight states because product testing found elevated levels of lead, according to federal health officials. Publix recalled 4-ounce Greenwise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches sold at more than 1,400 stores. The pouches were produced by Bowman Andros , a French company with a manufacturing plant in Mount Jackson, Virginia, according to the company's website. Publix issued the voluntary recall on May 9, but it wasn't added to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recall list until late Thursday. The potential contamination was flagged by officials in North Carolina, the state that first identified a 2023 lead poisoning outbreak linked to tainted applesauce pouches that sickened more than 500 U.S. children. Routine sampling of the baby food pouches found lead levels at 13.4 parts per billion, according to North Carolina agriculture officials. That exceeds the FDA's recommended limit of 10 parts per billion for such products intended for babies and young children. Publix said all the potentially contaminated products have been removed from store shelves. No illnesses have been reported, the company said. Customers can return the pouches to local stores for full refund. This is the second baby food pouch recall because of potential lead contamination in two months. In March, Target recalled more than 25,000 packages of its store brand Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree because of elevated lead levels. North Carolina collaborates with the FDA to conduct routine testing of food products, officials said. In 2023, state health officials investigated reports of lead poisoning in four children who consumed WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree. Those findings led to the detection of a nationwide outbreak linked to the pouches, which were widely sold in Dollar Tree and other stores. Tests showed they contained lead at levels 2,000 times higher than the FDA's maximum recommended level, as well as chromium. Federal health officials eventually identified 566 cases of confirmed, probable or suspected cases of lead poisoning tied to the pouches in 44 states. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's childhood lead poisoning program investigated the applesauce outbreak and coordinated state and federal response. However, the program was eliminated in April as part of federal funding cuts under the Trump administration. CDC officials didn't say whether or how the agency would respond to a similar outbreak now. A spokesperson said the agency is aware of the Publix baby food recall but hasn't been asked to assist with any investigation. There is no safe level of lead exposure, according to CDC. While the heavy metal is toxic to people of all ages, it can be especially harmful to children, causing damage to the brain and nervous system and slow growth and development. Heavy metals like lead can get into food products from soil, air, water or industrial processes, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US grocery chain recalls baby food pouches due to possible lead contamination
Publix, a nationwide supermarket chain, has issued a voluntary recall of baby food over potential lead contamination. The popular grocery store announced this week that pouches of its GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food were being pulled from shelves. 'The product is sold in 4-ounce plastic pouches and has the potential to be contaminated with elevated levels of lead,' a press release stated. 'This recall is being initiated as a result of routine sampling and is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,' it added. In a statement, Maria Brous, Publix Director of Communications, said there had been no reported cases of illness from the recalled food pouches. 'As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted products have been removed from all store shelves,' she said. 'Consumers who have purchased the product in question may return the product to their local store for a full refund. Publix customers with additional questions may call our customer care department toll-free at 1-800-242-1227 or visit our website at Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 260,000 associates, currently operates 1,404 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. This recall comes less than a month after Target issued a similar recall over its Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree. More than 25,000 packages of the baby food, sold in 4-ounce tubs, were affected by the recall, which was initiated due to potentially elevated levels of lead, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The recall was listed as Class II, which means the products are unlikely to cause serious harm, but still have the potential to result in temporary or reversible problems. There is no safe level of exposure to lead for children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to the heavy metal can cause developmental and cognitive problems. Earlier this week, Wells Enterprises, also known as Wells Dairy, issued a voluntary recall of 22 different types of ice cream and frozen yogurt treats due to the possible 'presence of plastic' in more than 17,000 tubs. You can find a full list of all the recalled flavors here.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
US grocery chain recalls baby food pouches due to possible lead contamination
Publix, a nationwide supermarket chain, has issued a voluntary recall of baby food over potential lead contamination. The popular grocery store announced this week that pouches of its GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food were being pulled from shelves. 'The product is sold in 4-ounce plastic pouches and has the potential to be contaminated with elevated levels of lead,' a press release stated. 'This recall is being initiated as a result of routine sampling and is being made with the knowledge of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration,' it added. In a statement, Maria Brous, Publix Director of Communications, said there had been no reported cases of illness from the recalled food pouches. 'As part of our commitment to food safety, potentially impacted products have been removed from all store shelves,' she said. 'Consumers who have purchased the product in question may return the product to their local store for a full refund. Publix customers with additional questions may call our customer care department toll-free at 1-800-242-1227 or visit our website at Publix, the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. with more than 260,000 associates, currently operates 1,404 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Kentucky. This recall comes less than a month after Target issued a similar recall over its Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree. More than 25,000 packages of the baby food, sold in 4-ounce tubs, were affected by the recall, which was initiated due to potentially elevated levels of lead, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The recall was listed as Class II, which means the products are unlikely to cause serious harm, but still have the potential to result in temporary or reversible problems. There is no safe level of exposure to lead for children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Exposure to the heavy metal can cause developmental and cognitive problems. Earlier this week, Wells Enterprises, also known as Wells Dairy, issued a voluntary recall of 22 different types of ice cream and frozen yogurt treats due to the possible 'presence of plastic' in more than 17,000 tubs. You can find a full list of all the recalled flavors here.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Publix recalls baby food pouches over potential lead contamination
Publix, a national supermarket chain, is voluntarily recalling baby food that could be contaminated with lead, the company announced this week. The company said it discovered the problem through routine testing and has pulled its GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches from its shelves, according to a news release, which said there were 'no reported cases of illness' related to the product. It's the second recall of baby food for potential lead contamination in recent weeks — and in both cases, the Food and Drug Administration didn't issue its own news release to warn the public, which safety experts and advocates said surprised them. The FDA did not explain why it hadn't issued a news release for the Publix recall or Target's voluntary recall in March of its Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable baby food puree. In that case, the FDA posted details about the recall in the agency's public recall-monitoring database. 'The FDA is committed to ensuring that all necessary information regarding product recalls is promptly communicated to protect public health,' the agency said in a statement. Publix did not respond to a request for comment. Target said that its Good & Gather recall 'involved a limited amount of product, which we took immediate action to remove from our shelves.' The recalls come amid heightened concern about contaminated baby food, following the 2023 recall of apple cinnamon puree pouches for children that had elevated levels of lead. And they're also occurring as the Trump administration pledges to make baby food safer through increased testing, though some safety advocates say those promises are undermined by the deep staffing and funding cuts to federal health FDA does not issue news releases for all food recalls, but it generally does so in cases where it determines there is a serious risk to public health, food safety experts and advocates said. Last year, the FDA issued news releases for multiple recalls of lead-contaminated cinnamon. Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, said it was 'concerning' that the FDA had chosen not to publicize the two recent recalls, given the serious health risk that lead poses to babies and young children, including brain damage, slower development and behavioral problems. 'There is no safe level of lead,' Sorscher noted. The FDA amplifying a recall can help reach more consumers, she added, especially for products like baby food that can have a long shelf life. 'It increases the attention that stores and consumers give it, so that it's more likely to be pulled off the shelf,' she said. Lead contamination can happen during the manufacturing process, but it can also occur through contaminated soil used to grow produce. In January, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, the FDA created a maximum level for lead in baby food for the first time. Though the standard is voluntary, it has helped push baby food companies to conduct more testing and initiate recalls, food safety experts and advocates said. 'Industry is taking that guidance to heart and being more proactive,' said Jennifer van de Ligt, a baby food expert who was among the FDA scientists laid off in recent weeks. 'If that guidance stays in place, it should put pressure on industry to comply.' The Trump administration has launched a high-profile effort to make infant formula and baby food safer under Operation Stork Speed. The administration said in March that the program would include 'increasing testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in infant formula and other foods children consume.' The FDA has not provided details about this increased testing and, when asked this week, instead pointed to its new effort to review nutrients in baby formula. Meanwhile, food safety advocates and former agency staff members have raised concerns about the impact of the Trump administration's mass layoffs on food safety issues like lead contamination. In April, the agency shuttered a federal laboratory that specialized in testing food for lead and other heavy metals and terminated its staff members, only to backtrack weeks later. The FDA also stalled in publicizing food safety warnings after terminating communications and public records staff, sources said. The administration additionally fired federal experts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who worked to prevent lead poisoning in children and proposed eliminating the lead poisoning prevention program in a leaked budget draft. In a statement, a CDC spokesperson said the agency reorganization plans were being finalized but that 'the work of this program will continue.' Sorscher argued that there was a contradiction between the administration's stated support for baby food safety and many of its actions. 'There is what they're saying they want to do to clean up the food supply, and what they're actually doing,' she said. This article was originally published on
NBC News
16-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Publix recalls baby food pouches over potential lead contamination
Publix, a national supermarket chain, is voluntarily recalling baby food that could be contaminated with lead, the company announced this week. The company said it discovered the problem through routine testing and has pulled its GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches from its shelves, according to a news release, which said there were 'no reported cases of illness' related to the product. It's the second recall of baby food for potential lead contamination in recent weeks — and in both cases, the Food and Drug Administration didn't issue its own news release to warn the public, which safety experts and advocates said surprised them. The FDA did not explain why it hadn't issued a news release for the Publix recall or Target's voluntary recall in March of its Good & Gather Baby Pea, Zucchini, Kale & Thyme Vegetable baby food puree. In that case, the FDA posted details about the recall in the agency's public recall-monitoring database. 'The FDA is committed to ensuring that all necessary information regarding product recalls is promptly communicated to protect public health,' the agency said in a statement. Publix did not respond to a request for comment. Target said that its Good & Gather recall 'involved a limited amount of product, which we took immediate action to remove from our shelves.' The recalls come amid heightened concern about contaminated baby food, following the 2023 recall of apple cinnamon puree pouches for children that had elevated levels of lead. And they're also occurring as the Trump administration pledges to make baby food safer through increased testing, though some safety advocates say those promises are undermined by the deep staffing and funding cuts to federal health agencies. here. The FDA does not issue news releases for all food recalls, but it generally does so in cases where it determines there is a serious risk to public health, food safety experts and advocates said. Last year, the FDA issued news releases for multiple recalls of lead-contaminated cinnamon. Sarah Sorscher, director of regulatory affairs at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group, said it was 'concerning' that the FDA had chosen not to publicize the two recent recalls, given the serious health risk that lead poses to babies and young children, including brain damage, slower development and behavioral problems. 'There is no safe level of lead,' Sorscher noted. The FDA amplifying a recall can help reach more consumers, she added, especially for products like baby food that can have a long shelf life. 'It increases the attention that stores and consumers give it, so that it's more likely to be pulled off the shelf,' she said. Lead contamination can happen during the manufacturing process, but it can also occur through contaminated soil used to grow produce. In January, in the final weeks of the Biden administration, the FDA created a maximum level for lead in baby food for the first time. Though the standard is voluntary, it has helped push baby food companies to conduct more testing and initiate recalls, food safety experts and advocates said. 'Industry is taking that guidance to heart and being more proactive,' said Jennifer van de Ligt, a baby food expert who was among the FDA scientists laid off in recent weeks. 'If that guidance stays in place, it should put pressure on industry to comply.' The Trump administration has launched a high-profile effort to make infant formula and baby food safer under Operation Stork Speed. The administration said in March that the program would include 'increasing testing for heavy metals and other contaminants in infant formula and other foods children consume.' The FDA has not provided details about this increased testing and, when asked this week, instead pointed to its new effort to review nutrients in baby formula. Meanwhile, food safety advocates and former agency staff members have raised concerns about the impact of the Trump administration's mass layoffs on food safety issues like lead contamination. In April, the agency shuttered a federal laboratory that specialized in testing food for lead and other heavy metals and terminated its staff members, only to backtrack weeks later. The FDA also stalled in publicizing food safety warnings after terminating communications and public records staff, sources said. The administration additionally fired federal experts for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who worked to prevent lead poisoning in children and proposed eliminating the lead poisoning prevention program in a leaked budget draft. In a statement, a CDC spokesperson said the agency reorganization plans were being finalized but that 'the work of this program will continue.' Sorscher argued that there was a contradiction between the administration's stated support for baby food safety and many of its actions. 'There is what they're saying they want to do to clean up the food supply, and what they're actually doing,' she said.
