1 in 3 Store-Bought Cinnamon Samples Tested Have Elevated Lead Levels

Follow Drugslib on

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 13, 2024 -- One third of cinnamon products tested by Consumer Reports contained elevated levels of lead, the watchdog agency warned Thursday.

The finding follows concerns about metals in foods after tainted cinnamon applesauce poisoned hundreds in 44 states last year, most of them children.

In the new study, Consumer Reports tested 36 cinnamon products and discovered high levels of lead in 12 cinnamon items sold at discount stores and ethnic markets. Sometimes, lead levels sometimes reached 3.5 parts per million.

How much lead is too much? The Codex Alimentarius, an international council created by the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, is “considering adopting a maximum level of 2.5 ppm for lead in bark spices, including cinnamon, in 2024,” according to the FDA.

Badia, one common brand, sold cinnamon with one part per million of lead, according to the report.

Consumer Reports advised people to discard any items containing that amount of lead or more.

Just a quarter teaspoon of any of those products has more lead than you should consume in an entire day, James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports.

“If you have one of those products, we think you should throw it away,” he said in a Consumer Reports news release.

“Even small amounts of lead pose a risk because, over time, it can accumulate in the body and remain there for years, seriously harming health,” Rogers added.

But the amounts of lead found in the report were not small, experts noted.

While the levels in the cinnamon applesauce recalled last year were “astronomical,” those in the new report were still 1,000 times as high as the levels that concern experts, Tomás Guilarte, a neuroscience and environmental health professor at Florida International University, told the New York Times.

“These are extremely high levels of lead,” he said. “Clearly they shouldn’t be used.”

Still, Consumer Reports also found far lower levels of lead in some cinnamon products, including from some brands it said were safe to use: Whole Foods 365, McCormick, Penzeys and Morton & Bassett.

“These products demonstrate that it’s possible to produce cinnamon with no lead or extremely low levels,” Rogers noted.

Food safety experts say lead could enter cinnamon bark when trees grow in contaminated soil or when the spice is processed with aging machinery, the Times reported. Cinnamon mainly grows in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam, the report said, and then is shipped around the world.

In the 2023 recall, the FDA has said it suspected that the cinnamon had been intentionally adulterated with lead chromate, a powder used to stretch the valuable commodity and boost profits.

Brian Ronholm, director of food safety policy at Consumer Reports, said the federal government should set a national policy on the amount of lead allowed in herbs and spices, something New York State already does.

“Ultimately, we want the FDA to develop a preventive strategy for reducing lead exposure in all foods,” he added in a Consumer Reports news release. “Right now, they’re just not in a position to do that because they’re chronically underfunded, and have been for decades, particularly on the food side, and that makes it very difficult for them to summon the will to focus on this.”

Sources

  • Consumer Reports, news release, Sept. 12, 2024
  • New York Times

    • Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

    Source: HealthDay

    Posted : 2024-09-14 00:00

    Read more

    Disclaimer

    Every effort has been made to ensure that the information provided by Drugslib.com is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. Drug information contained herein may be time sensitive. Drugslib.com information has been compiled for use by healthcare practitioners and consumers in the United States and therefore Drugslib.com does not warrant that uses outside of the United States are appropriate, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Drugslib.com's drug information does not endorse drugs, diagnose patients or recommend therapy. Drugslib.com's drug information is an informational resource designed to assist licensed healthcare practitioners in caring for their patients and/or to serve consumers viewing this service as a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the expertise, skill, knowledge and judgment of healthcare practitioners.

    The absence of a warning for a given drug or drug combination in no way should be construed to indicate that the drug or drug combination is safe, effective or appropriate for any given patient. Drugslib.com does not assume any responsibility for any aspect of healthcare administered with the aid of information Drugslib.com provides. The information contained herein is not intended to cover all possible uses, directions, precautions, warnings, drug interactions, allergic reactions, or adverse effects. If you have questions about the drugs you are taking, check with your doctor, nurse or pharmacist.

    Popular Keywords