Arsenic Spurs Recall Of Baby Cereal Sold At Wheeling Walmart

WHEELING, IL — Walmart is pulling some lots of Parent’s Choice Rice Baby Cereal from its shelves in Wheeling (1455 E. Lake Cook Road) and elsewhere after the baby food tested above Food and Drug Administration recommended levels for naturally occurring arsenic.

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.