Arsenic Spurs Recall Of Baby Cereal Sold At Escondido Walmarts

ESCONDIDO, CA — Walmart is pulling some lots of Parent's Choice Rice Baby Cereal from its shelves in Escondido and elsewhere after the baby food tested above Food and Drug Administration recommended levels for naturally occurring arsenic.

These are the Walmart locations in San Diego County:

• Chula Vista: 75 North Broadway
• Chula Vista: 875 E H St.
• Chula Vista: 1150 Broadway
• Chula Vista: 1360 Eastlake Parkway
• El Cajon: 300 North Second St.
• El Cajon: 605 Fletcher Parkway
• El Cajon: 13487 Camino Canada
• Encinitas: 1550 Leucadia Blvd.
• Escondido: 1266 East Valley Parkway
• Escondido: 1330 E Grand Ave.
• La Mesa: 5500 Grossmont Center
• La Mesa: 8810 Grossmont Blvd.
• National City: 1200 Highland Ave.
• Oceanside: 705 College Blvd.
• Oceanside: 1046 Mission Ave.
• Oceanside: 2100 Vista Way
• Oceanside: 3405 Marron Road
• Poway: 13425 Community Road
• San Diego: 575 Saturn Blvd.
• San Diego: 710 Dennery Road
• San Diego: 2121 Imperial Ave.
• San Diego: 3382 Murphy Canyon Road
• San Diego: 3412 College Ave.
• San Diego: 4840 Shawline St.
• San Marcos: 732 Center Drive
• Santee: 170 Town Center Parkway
• Vista: 1800 University Drive

The trace amounts of arsenic were discovered in a routine sampling of Parent's Choice products by the FDA. Inorganic arsenic occurs naturally in the soil and water, and is present in trace amounts in a wide variety of foods, according to the agency.

Maple Island Inc., the manufacturer of the Parent's Choice products, said its voluntary recall is "out of an abundance of caution." The product was distributed nationally, both in Walmart stores and online.

In addition to clearing shelves of the product, Walmart has placed what is called a "register block" on the product to prevent in-store and online sales.

Some packages of the baby cereal may have been sold. According to the FDA recall notice, the affected 8-ounce lots sold after April 5 include:

• Lot 21083 with UPC Code #00681131082907 with a "best if used by" date of JUN 24 2022.
• Lot 21084 with UPC Code #00681131082907 with a "best if used by" date of JUN 25 2022
• Lot 21242 with UPC Code #00681131082907 with a "best if used by" date of NOV 30 2022

The "best if used by" date and product numbers are found in the bottom left corner on the back of cereal packages.

Customers who may have packages of the affected baby cereal should throw the product away or return it to Walmart for a full refund. More information is available by contacting the manufacturer, Maple Island:

• At 800-369-1022 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday.
• By email at [email protected].

The FDA said no one has been sickened as a result of eating the cereal. No other Parent's Choice products are affected by the recall.

People who are exposed to arsenic poisoning are likely to get it through drinking water and, to a lesser extent, foods, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Arsenic occurs either naturally in soils, sediments and groundwater or as a result of mining, ore smelting and the industrial use of arsenic. Some water sources have higher naturally occurring levels of inorganic arsenic than other areas.

Organic arsenic compounds are found mainly in fish and shellfish. In the past, inorganic forms of arsenic were used in pesticides, paint pigment and wood preservatives; their use is restricted now.