10,500 Toddler Bottles and Cups Recalled Over Lead Poisoning Risk
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is warning consumers to “not open or use” any glass or plastic containers unless the bottom is marked with a child resistant cap or container. According to the US CPSC, the warning was prompted by an investigation of an infant death in Maryland that occurred in 2017 and was linked to the consumption of baby formula that contained lead. The CPSC’s findings of the case will be presented to the FDA and other federal officials in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The FDA released the findings this morning.The lead contamination was traced to the use of a contaminated formula sold by a distributor in the state of Maryland. The case has prompted the U.S. CPSC to issue a warning on glass and plastic containers containing food.The statement issued today to consumers is as follows:
“Consumers should not open or use any glass or plastic containers unless the bottom is marked with a child-resistant cap or container.”
The warning comes after consumer advocacy group the Center for Science in the Public Interest launched a petition calling on the FDA and the CPSC to issue additional warnings about lead paint poisoning. The petition has more than 1,700 signatures.
“Lead is one of the most dangerous and ubiquitous pollutants that we deal with across the country,” said Mary-Ann Miller, the executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “Lead poisoning is a public health crisis. Children and pregnant women are especially vulnerable to the effects of lead.
“This tragedy is about more than the health of the child who died. A simple warning would have gone a long way in preventing so many unnecessary tragedies.
“In the last 20 years, lead has become a major source of poisoning for the people of the United States, and especially those who live in or near older homes.”
The CPSC says more than 100 children have died in the last decade from chronic lead poisoning.
Lead poisoning is the result of lead being absorbed through the skin, in drinking water, in food
