Q. How did Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) discover that its lunch tote coolers have an elevated level of lead? A. Following a recent recall of similar lunch boxes by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), PBH immediately contacted the manufacturer of its lunch tote coolers, who assured PBH that its lunch tote coolers did not contain elevated levels of lead and provided PBH a written test report purportedly documenting that the PBH lunch tote coolers were compliant with all regulations regarding lead. Despite those assurances, PBH had the lunch tote coolers tested independently, the results of which testing prompted this recall.
Q. How many lunch boxes were distributed? A. Approximately 7,500 red, blue and green lunch tote coolers were distributed to our public health partners throughout the United States. Some of the lunch boxes were not distributed and remain in our warehouse. As soon as we learned about the CDPH recall, we stopped selling the lunch tote coolers pending the results of our independent testing.
Q. How much lead was found in the lunch tote coolers? What is the accepted lead standard allowed for products? A. The vinyl lining of the lunch tote coolers was found to contain 1800-2100 PPM lead, which exceeds the federal lead limit of 600 PPM in painted products used by children. This elevated level was reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on October 30, 2007 and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 31, 2007. While the exposure to lead from the lunch boxes is unlikely to result in any immediate health effects, lead ingestion should be avoided since elevated blood lead levels from chronic lead exposure can lead to serious, adverse health effects such as behavioral problems, learning disabilities and organ compromise.
Q. What should consumers do if they have one of PBH’s tote coolers? A. They should stop using the lunch box for any purpose and keep it away from infants and small children. PBH has contacted customers who purchased these lunch tote coolers with details about returning these products to PBH. If you were a recipient of one of these lunch tote coolers, but did not receive it directly from PBH, please return it to the place where it was obtained.
Q. Do these lunch tote coolers pose a health risk? A. It is unlikely that any child will become acutely ill from exposure to lead from these lunch tote coolers because lead poisoning typically occurs after repeated exposure. Because some of these lunch tote coolers may have lead in vinyl lining, there is the potential for food to become contaminated with lead and then ingested. Due to variations in the manufacturing process, the lead content and potential for food contamination could vary among lunch tote coolers of the same type.
However, lead exposure is cumulative and we want to do everything in our power to eliminate any possible exposure to children. That’s why we are being proactive and asking consumers to stop using red, green and blue lunch tote coolers distributed by PBH and to keep them away from infants and small children.
Q. What about other promotional products distributed by PBH?
A. PBH is currently assessing the potential risks of all of its promotional products.
