WanaBana Hit with Class Action Over Potential Lead Contamination in Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches

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The makers of WanaBana, Schnucks and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches face a proposed class action that alleges the companies failed to disclose to consumers that the products contain, or are at risk of containing, unsafe levels of lead.

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The 27-page lawsuit comes after defendants WanaBana LLC and WanaBana USA LLC issued a voluntary recall of WanaBana Apple Cinnamon Fruit Purée pouches in late October 2023. The recall was expanded on November 9 to include Schnucks cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches and variety packs and Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches.

The case says that after receiving reports of four children with elevated blood lead levels, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began investigating the recalled products as a potential shared source of exposure. The investigation, which has been reviewed and supported by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), detected “extremely high levels of lead” in the cinnamon applesauce pouches, the suit relays.

According to the filing, WanaBana “improperly, deceptively, and misleadingly” omitted from its products’ packaging that the pouches were potentially contaminated with unsafe levels of lead.

“The products’ contamination is particularly egregious given the potentially severe and irreversible consequences of lead consumption,” the complaint says, stressing that exposure to the powerful neurotoxin is linked to cognitive deficits, mental illness, dementia, hypertension, arrhythmia and breast cancer.

As a result of WanaBana’s allegedly deceptive advertising, consumers have unknowingly purchased products that are “in no way safe for human consumption and are entirely worthless,” the lawsuit contends.

Per the case, an FDA investigation traced the lead contamination back to an Ecuadorian production facility owned by Austrofoods. An analysis of samples of cinnamon supplied to Austrofoods by distribution company Negasmart revealed the ingredient contained up to 5,110 parts per million (ppm) of lead, the filing relays.

“For context, the international standard-setting body, Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), is considering adopting a maximum level of 2.5 ppm for lead in bark spices, including cinnamon, in 2024,” the FDA reports.

As of December 19, 2023, the FDA has received 69 reports of elevated blood lead levels in children under six years old potentially linked to the WanaBana, Schnucks or Weis cinnamon applesauce pouches, the agency’s investigation shares.

“[The plaintiff] and Class Members read and relied on [the defendants’] representations about the Products and purchased [the defendants’] Products based thereon,” the case says. “Had [the plaintiff] and Class Members known the truth about the Products, i.e., that they contain a harmful neurotoxin (i.e. lead), they would not have been willing to purchase them at any price, or, at minimum would have paid less for them.”

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States who purchased any of the products listed above during the applicable statute of limitations period.

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