We’ve heard it since we were young — vitamins are an important part of your dietary routine. Even though we tend to get a lot of the vitamins we need throughout the day, the boost isn’t harmful. And when colds make their way throughout the office, the extra Vitamin C is often a good thing. But after one mom’s warning went viral, it may be important for all of us to check our vitamin bottles a little more carefully — especially if toddler vitamins are in the home.
Samantha Andersen from Overland Park, Kansas posted her discovery on Facebook earlier this month after noticing that the Zarbee’s Naturals Complete Toddler multivitamins that her daughter Milani was taken included metallic flakes at the bottom of the bottle. Those flakes turned out to be actual metal, and Milani had ingested some of it.
“The metal flakes were even embedded in the surface area of some of the vitamins,” she wrote on Facebook. “There’s 55 servings in a bottle, and she’s had about 50, so who knows how many metal flakes she ingested.”
Andersen’s pediatrician recommended that Milani get X-rays done, and they ended up finding metal in her intestines, which is incredibly scary.
From there, Andersen tried to contact Target, who sold the vitamins online, along with the FDA.
She also tried calling Zarbees directly, but all she got was an apology and an offer for some coupons. The real question is, who’d want to buy more of their product when they don’t have any actual answers as to why their vitamins were tainted?
On Twitter, they responded with a photo statement to all of the people who asked about the safety of the vitamins.
— Zarbee's (@zarbees) December 18, 2018
And there were plenty of angry parents writing in, as Milani wasn’t the only child affected.
@zarbees What do you plan to do to fix this?!?! NEVER buying your products again!!!
— Matt Martinez (@MattMartinez08) December 17, 2018
Overland Park mom says she found metal shavings in her toddler’s gummy vitamins | FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports https://t.co/EKzVLa8Ppy
@zarbees They found metal in a child’s stomach and all you mfs can do is offer to SEND FUCKING COUPONS!?????. WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK??? LMAO YOOOOOOOO 😂🤢
— Lil Caesars 🔥 (@ManDemSugarX) December 15, 2018
@zarbees please respond ASAP so we can sleep at night.
— Jade (@jade_flamingo) December 15, 2018
— Zarbee's (@zarbees) December 16, 2018
Another mom on Facebook also checked her bottle and noticed it looked a lot like the bottle that Andersen had posted. Between the photos, the multiple claims, and the fact that Zarbees is only offering up a canned response, it seems like this may be a legitimate and huge mistake on their part.
Even worse, something seems suspicious about all of the Zarbees products — not just their gummies.
Since most parents out there have chosen Zarbees because they seem to always advertise as being safe and natural, the whole thing is even more peculiar.
Andersen initially saw a problem when the vitamins her daughter was using started to clump together. Since there weren’t too many left in the pack, she poured them out to separate them, and that’s when she spotted the metal.
She tried to investigate it by being scientific and was a little shocked at the results.
“My husband said, ‘Take a magnet and see if it sticks,’ and sure enough the magnet picked them right up,” Andersen said to Fox4KC.
The metal was also embedded in a few of the remaining gummies. Andersen made sure to point out that the loose metal was actually sharp, causing yet another danger. It seems like it’d be very easy to get hurt simply by pulling a vitamin out of the jar.
Samantha Andersen / Facebook
Samantha Andersen / Facebook
Plenty of people think that Zarbees should do the right thing and help cover the medical bills. But when parents try to reach out to the company about what happened, the canned response is all they’re currently getting.
This might prompt you to check your own Zarbees vitamins, and refrain from buying more until the company offers up more answers.
And if you suspect that you or your child may have ingested any metal, make sure to keep a record of what products you bought and see a physician.
Andersen said that after her daughter’s X-rays, they were told to look out for pain, fever, and bloody stools. So any reports of those symptoms may also be a cause of alarm.
