Israel’s baby food scare has escalated into a deeply disturbing investigation after Health Ministry lab tests found prescription sedatives inside jars of Prinok fruit puree sold in Jerusalem.

The substances were identified as clonazepam and lorazepam, benzodiazepine drugs used in prescription anti-anxiety and sedative medications. The discovery follows the hospitalization of four toddlers from the Jerusalem area who became unusually drowsy, weak and apathetic after reportedly consuming the puree. All four children were treated at Hadassah Ein Kerem, kept under observation and later released in good condition.

As JBN previously reported in its original coverage, Israeli health officials and police were investigating a “disturbing baby-food scare in Jerusalem” after toddlers were hospitalized and found to have benzodiazepine traces in their blood. That original warning has now turned into something far more serious: the Health Ministry says testing found sedative drugs in the actual jars.

N12 reports that the Health Ministry asked the Shin Bet to become involved in the case and transferred the test findings to the security agency. The Shin Bet denies involvement at this stage, but the mere question of whether Israel’s internal security service should examine baby food jars shows how abnormal this case has become.

The Health Ministry issued immediate closure orders for two Zol U’Begadol branches in Jerusalem where the jars were purchased, reportedly on Jaffa Street 113 and Jaffa Street 214. N12 reported that the branches remained open at the time of its update. Police have placed the investigation with the Zion district crime unit and say investigators are working both openly and covertly to determine where the drugs came from and how they entered the products.

Tthe products were reportedly bought as individual units, not in sealed multipacks. The ministry says there is currently no sweeping recall of all Prinok products because tests on importer-supplied products found no indication of a production defect, factory contamination or manufacturing failure.

Importer Randy said the findings point to an outside party deliberately inserting foreign substances into the product. That claim has not been independently proven, and investigators have not announced who may be responsible. Still, if the ministry’s current findings hold, the case points away from a standard factory error and toward a far more troubling breach somewhere in the chain.

Parents who purchased Prinok fruit puree from the affected branches are being told not to consume those products and to watch for unusual drowsiness, exhaustion, weakness, confusion or slurred speech. The ministry is also urging parents to make sure baby food jars are sealed, intact, properly labeled, stored correctly and still make the expected vacuum “pop” when opened.