A budget grocer in at least one state may have carried this product that's appealing when you need something healthy that won't soon spoil.
FDA: Fruit Recalled Due to Discovery of “Elevated Levels” of 2 Possible Toxins
Published on Jul. 23, 2025
Even in summer, stocking the pantry with healthy non-perishables can be an easy way to keep the kitchen cool and get nutrition when you’re fresh out of berries or melon.
If canned pears ever land in your cart, late Wednesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) alerted the public regarding a recall of Parashore Pear Slices in juice, sold in 15-ounce cans. New York-based WW Industrial Group is the listed recalling company.
The canned pears have the potential to be contaminated “with elevated levels of lead and cadmium,” says the agency. The Maryland Department of Health, which the report indicates is a part of the FDA Laboratory Flexible Funding Model program, is said to have discovered the issue “via sampling.”
Though the FDA notice indicates no illnesses had been reported as of July 23, the agency warns that poisoning is possible when someone is exposed to “larger amounts” of either lead or cadmium. The notice continues: “While these heavy metals can affect nearly every bodily system, its effects depend upon the amount and duration of lead exposure and age.”
As explained by the Cleveland Clinic, this type of poisoning occurs when certain heavy metals—such as lead, mercury, or arsenic—”attach to your cells and prevent them from performing their functions,” with potentially life-threatening results.
An additional concern flagged by the FDA notes that infants, young children and developing fetuses “can be affected by chronic exposure to amounts of heavy metals that may not result in obvious symptoms of lead poisoning. A child with heavy metal poisoning may not look or act sick.”
Learning disabilities, developmental delays, or lower IQ scores can all be caused by heavy metal poisoning in children, per the notice.
The canned pear slices were reportedly distributed to Grocery Outlet stores in at least one state—California—and “other Grocery Outlet stores across the U.S.,” though further location specifics were not provided. Per the Grocery Outlet website, the chain is “the nation’s largest extreme value retailer.”
Product details include:
- PARASHORE Pear Slices in Juice
- 15 oz. (425 g)
- UPC: 704817164237
- Lot Information: 3700/01172 6122J
- Prod: 02/19/2024
- Best By: 2/19/2027
Parashore is described as a leading Chinese manufacturer specializing in canned fruits and vegetables, as well as “the general home pantry food space,” according to a company website.
Product images are also available in the above FDA link.
The FDA is urging people with the recalled cans on hand to either throw them away or return them to the original place of a purchase “for a full refund.”
This follows several other 2025 recalls or product safety alerts for heavy metal concerns, including Target Good & Gather-brand baby food last April, Orgain protein powder in January, and recalls on children’s eating utensils and play jewelry, also both early in the year.
For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy by Reader’s Digest newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook and Instagram. Keep reading:
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- Walmart Has Posted a Product Recall for Reported Fatality Risk
- More Than 7,000 Pounds of Produce Connected to a Chain Restaurant Have Been Recalled at the Highest Risk Level in 2 States
