Products contaminated with lead have already been removed from the market, manufacturing companies are taking action

The announcement of the National Agency for Health Regulation, Control and Supervision (Arcsa), which warned on the morning of Thursday, January 4, that lead contamination was detected in two products sold on the Ecuadorian market, caused a reaction from two companies. included.

These are Bakels Ecuador, which deals in the marketing of bakery and confectionery products, and Embutidos Oro, a food marketing company. According to the Arcsa report, the Bakels vanilla-flavored cone starter mix was contaminated with lead, as was the Morcilla Type 1 product from Embutidos Oro, part of Grupo Oro.

Arcsa warns of two products contaminated with lead, find out which they are

On the afternoon of Thursday, January 4, the company published a statement on its Facebook profile, in which they stated that the preventive blocking of all suspicious batches was carried out and that, in addition, the complete withdrawal of the product from the market began.

“We emphasize that the specified product of the Bakels brand is the only one that contains cinnamon, so the other products of our brand that are on the market are not included and are of the highest quality for consumption,” the company reported.

The other brand involved, Grupo Oro, also issued an official statement on its Facebook account. The company assured that it has acted proactively regarding the current situation of contamination with cinnamon powder from several suppliers across the country. “We conduct analyzes in accordance with our established protocols, and all this before we receive any notification and/or visit from the competent authority (Arcs),” the company assures.

They added that they have taken a preventive approach to the immediate withdrawal of the product in all market channels and subsequent destruction. “Finally, in order to ensure the quality of our products, we have carried out a heavy metal analysis of each batch for their release, with which we can guarantee that all the products currently on the market do not pose any risk to our consumers”, Grupo Oro assures.

These warnings come after the entity took samples of 42 products made with cinnamon sold in Ecuador, including sausages, sauces, spices, drinks, liqueurs, dairy products and dressings, to check for lead. These controls were announced by the executive director of that institution, Daniel Sánchez.

‘Products with lead are taken off the shelf, removed and immobilized’: Arcsa expects to receive results in 7 days for 72 products at high risk of contamination

It was announced on Arcsa’s social networks that the director of the organization officially submitted a complaint regarding food contamination to the State Prosecutor’s Office this Thursday in accordance with what is established by the General Criminal Code.

The official presented the list of analyzed products to the Committee on the Right to Health of the National Assembly, in a speech held last week. However, at the same meeting, he stated that 926 products containing cinnamon are sold in the country.

Sánchez also explained that he is in dialogue with the Minister of Health, Franklin Encalada, to coordinate the progress of the investigation into the alleged food contamination in the country.