As Georgia health officials continue to track reports of lead poisoning in children that may be linked to contaminated applesauce, here are some things for parents to know about the risks and symptoms.
The Georgia Department of Public Health has reported 23 confirmed or suspected cases of lead poisoning, most of them children. That figure is up from 20 cases in early January. The latest total includes 13 confirmed cases, 9 probable cases and one suspected case, the AJC reported.
The applesauce recall was first issued in late 2023, but officials are now looking as far back as November 2022 to see if previous cases of poisoning in the state might also be connected.
U.S. food inspectors found “extremely high” levels of lead in cinnamon at a plant in Ecuador that made the applesauce pouches, according to the FDA. The applesauce was found to be contaminated with both lead and chromium.
Risks and symptoms
There’s no safe level of lead exposure, and lead is particularly dangerous to children because their growing bodies absorb more lead than adults and their brains and nervous systems are more sensitive to the damaging effects of lead.
Children who have consumed a recalled applesauce pouch product should be tested for lead exposure, according to the CDC.
The FDA also advises parents whose children may have eaten the recalled products to watch for symptoms of exposure to either lead or chromium.
Many children poisoned by lead have no obvious immediate symptoms and a blood test is needed to determine whether a child has been poisoned. Even low levels of lead poisoning can cause learning problems later in life.
Symptoms of lead toxicity include: headache; abdominal pain or colic; vomiting and anemia.
Longer-term exposure could result in behavioral changes such as irritability; lethargy; difficulty concentrating, fatigue and weight loss.
Symptoms of chromium exposure may be nonspecific, according to the FDA. Consuming a high level of chromium exceeding dietary recommendations may result in abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and anemia, among other effects.
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