The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to the manufacturer of the apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches that gave hundreds of children across the U.S. lead poisoning in late 2023.

The recent lead chromate contamination incident in cinnamon applesauce pouches has underscored critical gaps in our national food recall system, and illustrates the urgent need to modernize food recall processes and enhance data-sharing among food safety and public health agencies.