Heavy Metals in Applesauce and Fruit Pouches: What Parents Should Know

Applesauce is a toddler staple: fruit cups in the lunch bag, pouches in the diaper bag, a spoonful on the side at dinner. It is also a food many parents started worrying about after the 2023 recall of cinnamon applesauce pouches.

The good news is that apples themselves tend to be one of the lower-metal foods. Here is what the testing shows, what went wrong in 2023, and how to shop.

What the testing shows

In Healthy Babies Bright Futures' 2022 testing of 288 foods, apples were among the foods lowest in heavy metals, alongside bananas, squash, eggs, and most meats. HBBF and Consumer Reports have both suggested unsweetened applesauce as a lower-metal snack option compared with rice-based snacks like puffs and rice cakes.

That does not mean applesauce is metal-free. Trace amounts are in nearly all foods. But plain applesauce is generally not where the biggest exposures come from.

What happened in the 2023 recall

In late 2023, health officials in North Carolina traced high blood lead levels in several young children to cinnamon applesauce pouches. The source turned out to be the cinnamon, which contained very high levels of lead and was later found to also contain chromium. The pouches were sold under the WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis brands and were recalled in October and November 2023.

By April 2024, CDC counted 566 reported cases across 44 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. More than half were children under 2. CDC's outbreak summary.

Two lessons from the recall:

• Added ingredients matter. A spice, flavoring, or concentrate can bring in contamination that the main ingredient does not have.
• Testing the finished product matters. Testing only the apples would not have caught a problem that came from the cinnamon.

If you think your child ate a recalled product, talk to your pediatrician about a blood lead test.

Applesauce vs apple juice

Whole fruit and applesauce are better choices than juice. FDA has set an action level of 10 parts per billion for inorganic arsenic in apple juice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no juice at all before age 1. After that, whole fruit is still the better option for fiber and nutrients.

How to choose applesauce and fruit pouches

• Pick unsweetened, simple ingredient lists most of the time. The fewer added ingredients, the fewer possible sources of contamination.
• Rotate fruits. Pears, bananas, peaches, and berries give variety.
• Check the QR code. California requires baby-food makers selling in the state to post results for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, and many packages link to them. How to read those results.
• Look at the whole pouch. Many "fruit" pouches also contain vegetables like sweet potato or carrot, which can carry more lead and cadmium. Why root vegetables matter.

What a certification mark adds

The Heavy Metal Certified mark means that specific product was tested through a qualified independent laboratory and met a published standard covering eight metals, including lead and chromium, with retesting every year. The mark does not mean a product is free of metals, and a product without it has not failed anything. What the mark means.

FAQ

Is applesauce high in heavy metals? Generally no. Apples are among the lower-metal foods in published testing. Trace amounts are still present in nearly all foods.

Is the recalled cinnamon applesauce still on shelves? The recalled products were pulled in late 2023. If you have any at home, throw them away or return them.

Is apple juice worse than applesauce? Juice is a less nutritious choice, and FDA has an action level for arsenic in apple juice. Pediatricians recommend no juice before age 1.

Is organic applesauce lower in heavy metals? Not reliably. Organic rules cover farming practices, not heavy metals.

Learn more

• Heavy metals in baby food pouches
• Heavy metals in toddler snacks
• What Heavy Metal Tested certification is

Make fruit cups or pouches? Book a 30-minute call about certification.