A serious new development has emerged in the “Prinoq” fruit puree case: laboratory tests found the prescription drugs clonazepam and lorazepam in the puree itself, and the information was also passed to the Shin Bet. What had been treated as an unusual health incident is now being examined as a broader case, with investigators looking not only at food safety but also at the possibility of outside interference or a deliberate act.
So far, at least four toddlers from Jerusalem were hospitalized after consuming Prinoq fruit puree jars bought individually at Zol UveGadol branches in the city. According to the reports, the children arrived with sleepiness, weakness and apathy, and tests detected traces of benzodiazepines, drugs used in adult sedatives and sleeping pills. The children were discharged after improving.
The latest update is that the drugs were identified not only in the children’s blood, but in the puree jars themselves. The Health Ministry immediately closed two Zol UveGadol branches at 113 and 214 Jaffa Street in Jerusalem, where the jars were purchased. However, no broad recall has been announced for the brand, because there is still no evidence of contamination at the manufacturing plant.
That detail, together with the fact that the jars were sold individually rather than in sealed multipacks, has pushed the probe toward what may have happened after production, including at the store, in storage, in the supply chain, or through external tampering. The company said its products are tested at the factory and on entry to Israel, and that its checks show no concern about foreign substances, calling it a local Jerusalem incident. The ministry urged parents who fed the suspected puree to watch for changes in behavior and contact a pediatrician or the Health Ministry hotline 5400* if symptoms such as sleepiness, exhaustion or confused speech appear.
