Anhing Corporation learned on August 12, 2015, from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), that the ABC Cookies contained lead in excess of the California State requirements and as such could cause health problems to consumers, particularly infants, small children, and pregnant women. Anhing Corporation immediately quarantined the remaining inventory of the ABC Cookies and is notifying 4 retailers in California who received 4 cartons (total 96 jars) to stop selling and for consumers not to eat these cookies.

The ABC Cookies Banh Chu is contained in a plastic jar shaped and painted as a cat’s face. The bottle has a red lid that contains a paper label with a picture of the cookies the name “ABC Cookies Banh Chu” the Caravelle brand logo, the ingredient declaration, the net weight, and the name and address of Anhing Corporation. Each jar contains 7 ounces of cookies.

Recent analysis of the ABC Cookies by CDPH revealed that each cookie contained a lead level of 0.13 ppm and 13 ppm per labeled serving size. California considers products to be consumed by children with a lead level in excess of FDA’s provisional total tolerable intake level (PTTIL) for lead by small children of 6 micrograms to be adulterated. Therefore, sale of these cookies are prohibited in the State of California.

Anhing Corporation was unaware of the problem when it imported the product and wants to ensure its products are safe. Therefore, in in an abundance of caution in addition to its ongoing cooperation with the CDPH, Anhing Corporation is voluntarily recalling all ABC Cookies from the marketplace. Consumers in possession of packages of ABC Cookies should not eat them and should return the cookies to the place of purchase.

Although the level encountered by CDPH is slightly higher than the legal level of acceptance pregnant women and parents of children who may have consumed this cookies should consider consulting their physician or health care provider to determine whether further medical testing is necessary. For more information about lead poisoning, parents and caretakers should contact their local childhood lead poisoning prevention program or local public health department.