-definitely.

-read a book.

We first met Ricky and Sarah Callahan and their 14-month-old Rudy last month. The Callahans were shocked when Rudy was diagnosed with lead poisoning after a routine one-year checkup in August.

Never in a million years did I imagine that my son would be affected by lead poisoning?

Rudy is among the nearly 60 children across the country who had elevated blood lead levels after eating Whamabana's apple cinnamon fruit purees.

How many of these apple sauce pouches do you think he had eaten?

They were a regular part of his diet.

Doctors say lead poisoning can lead to developmental delays and IQ loss in children. Just this week, Wenabana, which voluntarily recalled its cinnamon, apple sauce pouches in late October, pointed to an Ecuador-based supplier of cinnamon as the possible cause, saying it was releasing the information in the interest of public health. The FDA said the cinnamon supplier does not import directly into the US, and the agency is working with Ecuadorian authorities to determine if the spice could have been used in other products shipped here, but that doesn't give much comfort to the Callahans.

Ricky and I were the two people that he relied on for his food, and we fed that to him. It makes me feel guilty. Like all we wanted was the best for our baby, and he's been lead poisoned.

It's not the first time experts have been concerned. A 2021 congressional report revealed dangerous levels of heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in a wide range of baby foods, often absorbed by fruits and vegetables from soil and water.

This is a big problem that requires solutions at all different levels. Fda needs to set protective standards. Food manufacturers need to test what's coming in and what's in their finished foods. Parents also need to pay attention and make choices to help lower their children's exposures to these toxic metals.

In January, the FDA announced proposed industry limits on lead in baby food, but that guidance isn't expected to be finalized until 2025.

Why has it.

Taken so long for the FDA to even get to this point?

Fda is a big bureaucratic agency, but it's not going to move quickly. In the meantime, children are exposed every day.

What should parents do? Hoolahan says study which ingredients tend to carry more heavy metals risks like root vegetables and rice. Don't assume homemade baby food is safer and make sure kids eat different types of food from various brands.

If you're serving the same food every single day to your child, you could be accidentally concentrating a particular toxin in your child's diet.

Not every state requires lead testing for young children, but experts say that is the best way to know if a child has been exposed to lead. Rudy's lead levels are going down, but his parents say he's showing signs of a speech delay.

This is something that he will have to live with for the rest of his life.

This week, the Callahans filed suit against Whenna and they say they hope other parents don't have to go through the same ordeal.

What action do you want to see?

I'd like to see a more rigorous testing so things like this don't happen in the future.

Winabana has not yet responded to the Cullohans lawsuit, but the company says it has set up a fund to reimburse people for health care costs and blood testing related to this recall up to a point. And, Halley, we should mention these pouches were sold nationwide on Amazon at Dollar Tree and also under the brand names Weiss and Snook. So if you suspect that your child has lead, poisoning, call your doctor, get that blood test.

Halley, back to you. You and such important reporting. Thank you for bringing it to us tonight. Appreciate it. Coming up, a lot more to get to here on the show, including pet owners, vets, racing to figure out what is making dogs across the country so sick. Why the number of cases is hard to track.

Coming up.

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