The parents of two young girls who were hospitalized after consuming a baby fruit puree product say they endured a harrowing ordeal that included police questioning as suspected child abusers, despite repeatedly warning authorities that they believed the product itself was responsible.
The case came to light after Israel’s Health Ministry announced that laboratory testing of certain jars of “Prinok” baby fruit puree detected the presence of clonazepam and lorazepam, prescription medications from the benzodiazepine family commonly used as sedatives.
Speaking to Radio 103FM, Yael Biton recounted the terrifying moments after her daughters consumed the puree.
“It was a serious nightmare,” she said. “I ran home and found my daughters unconscious. The older one was in my husband’s arms, and the baby was in my daughter’s arms. All the children in the house were crying and screaming because they didn’t understand what had happened. They ate three spoonfuls and collapsed onto the floor.”
The girls were rushed to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, where doctors conducted extensive testing.
“They discovered benzodiazepines in their urine—very powerful sedatives—and in an enormous quantity,” Biton said. “The moment we arrived, I asked if the girls were okay. They told me they were stable. I immediately said, ‘Take the jar that’s in my bag. This jar is poisoned. There is something wrong with it. It cannot be a coincidence that they collapsed immediately afterward.’”
According to Biton, the puree had been fed to the girls by her 11-year-old daughter, who has since struggled with intense emotional trauma.
“She suffered a real shock,” Biton said. “She started vomiting and kept saying, ‘I gave it to them. Why did I give it to them?’ She felt tremendous guilt. I had to explain that feeding baby food is a completely normal thing to do. No one could have imagined something like this.”
Biton also said the jar’s unusual seal raised suspicions from the outset.
“My daughter told me it was very difficult to open. She didn’t hear the usual popping sound when it opened, but because it was sealed so tightly she didn’t think anything of it. Looking back, it seems very unusual.”
Adding to the family’s distress, Biton said she and her husband were later taken in for police questioning.
“Two days later, my husband and I were brought in for questioning as suspects in child abuse,” she said. “Our daughters were hospitalized, and at the same time investigators were treating us as suspects. It was extremely traumatic.”
She said she repeatedly urged investigators to examine the baby food jar and even suggested the possibility of criminal tampering.
“I told the investigator from the beginning that someone may have interfered with these jars,” Biton said. “Whether it was criminal or nationalistic in nature, I said the first thing they needed to do was test the puree.”
Biton noted that another similar case was reported last week and that she has spoken with the affected family.
“They described the exact same symptoms,” she said. “They also said the jar was sealed unusually tightly. That only strengthened the suspicion that someone may have tampered with the product and then resealed it.”
Israeli authorities continue to investigate how the medications found their way into the baby food products and whether the contamination was accidental or the result of deliberate tampering.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
