A Jerusalem mother said she discovered her children had eaten fruit puree containing sedatives, after both began showing alarming symptoms and were taken to hospital. The product was a “Prינוק” baby fruit puree, and the Health Ministry said tests found clonazepam and lorazepam, substances used in drugs such as Clonex and Lorivan.
According to the mother, she opened the jar and gave some to her older child, while her 10-month-old daughter and a neighbor’s child also ate from it. She said the baby lost stability, her head dropped back and she turned pale, then the older child could not stand and kept falling. Later, he also could not sit and his eyes closed. The mother called Magen David Adom and United Hatzalah, and both children were taken to hospital, where high levels of the substance were found, especially in her son. The neighbor’s child was also examined and found to have the same ingredient, though in a smaller amount after eating only one spoonful.
The mother said firefighters first checked whether the substance came from the air, but she and the nurses suspected the puree. Staff later told her that a similar case had happened weeks earlier, when two children, ages three and one, arrived in the same condition after eating puree. The families later realized the jars had been bought at branches of the “Zol U’Vagadol” chain in Jerusalem, just minutes apart, and both said the jars were unusually hard to open.
The Health Ministry said the factory production line at the “Prינוק” plant was examined and there was no suspicion the material was added there. Instead, authorities are considering all possibilities, including deliberate tampering by an outside party. The ministry asked the Shin Bet to join the investigation, and the chain handed over security camera footage. On Wednesday, the ministry issued immediate closure orders for the two Jerusalem branches where the jars were bought, though the stores initially opened as usual until police and inspectors forced them to shut. The ministry said it did not order a general recall, and urged parents whose children ate the product to watch for sleepiness, exhaustion or confusion, see a pediatrician and call the ministry hotline 5400*.
