The recalled WanaBana cinnamon applesauce pouches potentially linked to lead poisonings in hundreds of people across the United States were likely contaminated by a single cinnamon processor in Ecuador, the Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday.
Ecuadorian officials have identified Carlos Aguilera, a cinnamon processor, as “the likely source of contamination” of the applesauce pouches, the FDA said.
Aguilera sourced his cinnamon from Sri Lanka. According to Ecuadorian officials, the cinnamon sticks were free from lead contamination before they were processed.
Aguilera is just one part of supply chain for the Florida-based WanaBana cinnamon applesauce pouches. The pouches are made at a facility in Ecuador called Austrofoods, which sources its cinnamon from another Ecuadorian supplier called Negasmart. Negasmart, in turn, got its cinnamon from Aguilera, according to Ecuadorian officials.
The investigation and legal proceedings by officials in Ecuador to determine ultimate responsibility for the contamination are still ongoing, the FDA said, but Aguilera’s business is not operating at this time.
In an interview with the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, Aguilera denied the accusation, saying he did not contaminate the cinnamon. He said that officials sampled products processed in three of his mills and did not find lead.
WanaBana did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NBC News was unable to reach Negasmart.
WanaBana has previously said it is working with the FDA on its investigation.
Since late last year, the FDA has been investigating lead contamination in WanaBana apple cinnamon fruit puree, along with two other products made by WanaBana: the supermarket brands Schnucks apple sauce pouches with cinnamon and Weis cinnamon apple sauce. The FDA had homed in on the cinnamon as the most likely source of contamination and the agency had said that the contamination may have been intentional.
