Months after applesauce recall, parents remain in constant fear about possible long term effects

About four months after WanaBana announced a nationwide recall of its cinnamon applesauce pouches, parents of lead-poisoned children say they’re still living in constant fear of the potential long-term health issues that could develop in their young ones.

Alyssa Magnuson, 29, from Braham, Minnesota, was in “disbelief and shock” when a routine blood test last fall revealed that her then-11-month-olddaughter's blood lead levels were 23.4 micrograms of lead per deciliter, far higher than what’s seen in most children.

“I literally didn’t think there was any possible way lead could have gotten into her system,” Magnuson said.

It wasn’t until a week later that she learned about the WanaBana recall. Magnuson had bought the applesauce pouches from a Dollar Tree store, something she said other people judged her for at the time.

Magnuson said that her daughter, Stevie, began acting fussy around the time she started eating the applesauce, something Magnuson now attributes to lead exposure.

“Now that her lead levels are lower, she’s acting entirely differently,” she said.

But the worry and guilt haven’t gone away.

“It’s always going to be a thing,” Magnuson said. “If something’s wrong with her when she’s older, I’m gonna wonder if it’s that.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said that the WanaBana contamination is "absolutely outrageous" and has renewed her call on the Food and Drug Administration to take action on heavy metals in foods for babies and young children.

“This is heavy metals that are ingested by toddlers, by little kids,” Klobuchar said in an interview. “You think you’re safe when you use a cinnamon-flavored applesauce pack. And it turns out, you’re basically giving your child poisons.”

She plans to introduce a bill