Are you adding cinnamon to the dishes or cooking with Lead?
Here's a ‘spicy’ secret: FDA detects Lead contaminated cinnamon in certain brands. One of the most famous and widely used spices, Cinnamon is known for its warm and sweet aroma as well as taste. From sweet to savory dishes, cinnamon is used as a versatile spice. However, the recent warnings by U.S. health officials have shaken up both the retailers and consumers.
For the third time in seven months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning of excess lead contamination in ground cinnamon found in popular outlets like Patel Brothers, Dollar Tree, and Eurogrocery.
The FDA has “recommended that companies recall the products.” In the meantime, the “consumers should throw away and avoid buying these ground cinnamon products,” the agency reported. Till now, no illness due to consumption of lead contaminated product are reported.
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Brands Under Observations: The FDA mentioned following brands in its latest alert: El Chilar, Marcum, SWAD, Supreme Tradition, Compania Indillor Orientale, ALB Flavor, Shahzada, Spice Class, and La Frontera.
Lead Alert: As per latest FDA research, ground cinnamon of these brands were detected with Lead in the range of 2 parts per million to about 7 parts per million. The highest amount was detected in El Servidor brand with around 20 parts per million of Lead.
Meanwhile, this level of Lead is much lower than WanaBana and other brands of cinnamon apple puree with 2,000 to 5,000 parts per million, which harmed more than 500 children in 2023.
FDA investigating lead contamination in applesauce that may have sickened dozens of children pic.twitter.com/hfHxrgPov5
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What's the Limit? Till now, FDA hasn't set any limit for heavy metals like Lead in spices. For candy, the approved limit is 1 part per million of lead.
The spice industry trade group, American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) follows “no more than 2 parts per million of lead in bark spices” like cinnamon.
Apart from adulteration, food items can sometimes accumulate heavy metals like Lead from water or soil. Pollution is another reason behind excess amount of heavy metals in food items. Apart from that, manufacturing process, shipping and handling may also led to Lead contamination.
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Any amount of Lead can turn into fatal consequences if accumulated in the body for a long time. It badly affects kidney function, nervous system, immune health cardiovascular system, reproductive and developmental systems. According to World Health Organisation (WHO) report, nearly 1 million people die every year due to Lead contamination worldwide.
The answer is “No”. The Lead content is never mentioned in the ingredients of food items. So, you should only purchase spices from those companies that have publicly claimed about monitoring the whole manufacturing processes. In practice sense, it's a very tough job.
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Ground cinnamon is mostly used to prepare savory dishes due to its coarser texture along with intense flavor. Amidst rising concerns about occurrence of heavy metals, FDA has advised consumers to avoid using listed brands. Due to long shelf life, consumers usually keep these products for a long time in home. If you found such items, discard them immediately.
The FDA is currently taking some additional steps before issuing a public health alert to ensure food safety.
