The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued an urgent alert about a “fitness” food. This is an item that is in circulation in every supermarket in the country. According to the agency, this product has elevated levels of lead, posing a serious health risk to all consumers.
The agency urged all shoppers not to consume the product and to completely eradicate it from stores. This recall is part of an effort by the authorities to prevent possible harm from lead contamination. Recall that it is a toxic substance that can have harmful effects on health, especially in pregnant women and children.
The recall of this fitness food, ordered by the FDA through its official website, affects several granola bars manufactured by the company Riverside Natural Foods Inc. which contain dangerous levels of lead. The U.S. agency explained that the contamination came to light after a thorough investigation into the manufacturing process of this food, which yielded truly alarming results.
The limits set by the agency
Lead is a toxic metal that can cause serious health problems. But its consequences are even more dangerous if ingested in quantities above the limits established by regulatory agencies. Each agency, such as the Food and Drug Administration, has a specific threshold for determining how much of a contaminant can be present in a food without endangering the well-being of the people who eat it.
If the level exceeds that established amount, the risk to health increases considerably, which justifies the decision to withdraw the products from the points of sale despite the high economic cost it would mean for the company. However, the U.S. government agency’s decision is based solely on protecting the health of its citizens.
Although the United Nations (UN) establishes a limit of 2.5 parts per million for cinnamon, there is no specific data on the exact standard for granola bars. However, it is clear that any elevated level of lead in these products can be harmful to consumers. In this framework, the focus is mainly on children and pregnant women, who are more vulnerable to the effects of this heavy metal.
Products affected by the FDA’s recall of this fitness food
The FDA has detailed that the withdrawal of this fitness food from supermarkets took place between January and November 2024. It was a process that was carried out voluntarily by the company Riverside Natural Foods Inc. The granola bars contaminated with high levels of lead had been distributed in the United States, Canada and other international markets. Now, we will leave you with a list of products that you should throw away if you have them in your home:
- Chocolate chip granola bars.
- Mixed berry granola bars.
- Cookie and cream grain bars.
- Strawberry grain bars.
- Birthday cake granola bars sprinkled with chocolate.
- Chocolate banana grain bars.
- Vanilla granola bars sprinkled with chocolate.
- Chocolate sprinkled cookie crumble granola bars.
In case you have some of these fitness foods in your cupboard, the FDA’s recommendation is that you do not consume them and discard them immediately. This is the only way to avoid any health risk from this product with high levels of lead.
