Father Slams Delay After Children Hospitalized Over Fruit Puree Incident

Several children were taken to hospital on Thursday after eating fruit puree, and Israel’s Health Ministry said it was investigating the circumstances. One father, identified as A., whose two children were among those affected, told N12 that the family still has no clear answer about what caused the symptoms or why the product was not examined sooner.

According to A., the episode happened Thursday evening while his children were playing with neighborhood children. Three of the children ate apple puree from a red package, and shortly afterward some of them became disoriented, struggled to walk, and could not speak. “The neighbors’ children started falling and nearly fainting, they didn’t talk and didn’t walk,” he said. He said his daughter later also began stumbling, after which his wife called Magen David Adom and the children were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem in Jerusalem.

A. said firefighters initially checked for a gas leak, and authorities also considered whether the children had been exposed to spraying in a kindergarten or park, but that was ruled out. He said he brought the puree to the hospital on Thursday night, but when he contacted the Health Ministry on Sunday he was told it did not know the case. “I’ve been chasing them for days,” he said, calling the delay “a life-threatening danger.” He added, “If a baby had eaten it, he would have died.”

While waiting for test results, A. and his wife were summoned to police and questioned for two hours on suspicion of abuse of helpless persons. “They said, ‘Listen, the children arrived dazed, you abused them,’” he recounted. He said his three-year-old daughter had eaten only “a spoon or two” and was discharged after improving, while his son never ate the puree and was tested only out of concern.

Police said they are working to establish the truth in any suspected offense, especially cases involving helpless toddlers, and that the parents gave only an open statement while the investigation continues. The company Randy said its products are sold for more than 20 years, are tested in the factory and again by the Health Ministry at entry to Israel, and that internal checks found no foreign substances. It said samples were also sent to the ministry and that it believes the case is isolated in Jerusalem, possibly involving external tampering. The Health Ministry had not yet responded.