One year later remembered Applesauce bags containing cinnamon caused lead poisoning in over 500 children, and new research raises further concerns about the popular spice used in baked goods and often sprinkled on coffee and porridge.
According to results released Thursday, Consumer Reports found concerning levels of lead in one-third of the cinnamon powder and cinnamon-containing spice blends it tested. The tests included brands available in both conventional grocery stores and those that sell international foods.
Lead levels above 1 ppm were measured in 12 of 36 brands purchased at 17 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and online, the limit that triggers a recall in New York, the only U.S. state with regulations on heavy metals in spices, the advocacy group said.
Stop using these brands
Here are the 12 brands of spice blends and cinnamon that CR recommends you stop using:
- Badia Cinnamon Powder
- BaiLiFeng Five Spice Powder
- Bowl & Basket Ground Cinnamon
- Deep Cinnamon Powder
- EGN cinnamon powder
- Mimi’s Products Ground Cinnamon
- Paras Cinnamon Powder
- Rani Brand ground cinnamon
- Spicy King Five Spice Powder
- Three Rivers Cinnamon Stick Powder
- Yu Yee Brand Five Spice Powder
- Zara Foods Cinnamon Powder
“If you have one of these products, we think you should throw it away,” said microbiologist James Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports, of the 12 brands with the highest lead levels. “Even small amounts of lead pose a risk because it can build up in the body over time and stay there for years, causing serious damage to health,” he added.
Brands you can use
Here are the spice blend and cinnamon brands that are safe according to CR:
- Abido Spices 7 Blends
- Good & Gather Ground Cinnamon
- Ground Cinnamon from Great Value
- Happy Belly ground cinnamon
- Kirkland Signature Organic Saigon Cinnamon
- McCormick Cinnamon
- Morton Bassett San Francisco Ground Cinnamon
- Natural Plus Green Five Spice Powder
- Penzeys Ceylon Cinnamon
- Penzeys ground cinnamon
- Penzey’s Vietnamese Cinnamon
- Shan Garam Masala Powder
- Simply organic cinnamon
- The Spice Lab Organic Ground Cinnamon
- Swad Garman Masala Powder
- Organic ground cinnamon from Trader Joe’s
- Wei-Chuan Five-Spice Powder
- Premium seven spice mix from Ziyad
The best brands
The good news is that half a dozen of the products tested were low risk and “demonstrate that it is possible to make cinnamon without lead or with extremely low amounts,” Rogers said.
The six brands that qualify as good options are:
- 365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon
- 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon
- Loisa Organic Cinnamon,
- Morton & Bassett San Francisco Organic Ground Cinnamon
- Sadaf Cinnamon Powder
- Sadaf seven spice mix.
The full list of products consumers should not use, as well as nearly 20 products that are considered “OK” to use, can also be found here.
Federal and state agencies are still investigating the outbreak, which is linked to 519 cases of food poisoning in 44 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to a March update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Food and Drug Administration followed suit with a warning against 17 products containing ground cinnamon which were found to contain high levels of lead.
Short-term lead exposure to very small amounts may not cause symptoms, but longer-term lead exposure can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system and lead to learning disabilities and other developmental problems in children. Chronic lead exposure is associated with kidney dysfunction, high blood pressure, and neurocognitive effects in adults.
