FDA Issues Warning About Six Ground Cinnamon Products
These brands may contain unsafe levels of lead.
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Cinnamon adds deliciousness to a wide range of dishes. But in the case of several brands of ground cinnamon, unfortunately, it also adds potentially dangerous amounts of lead.
After testing a range of cinnamon products, the FDA has advised consumers to throw away and avoid purchasing several ground cinnamon products after determining that they feature high levels of lead and that long-term exposure to them may not be safe.
The six products being recalled are La Fiesta brand cinnamon, sold at La Superior SuperMercados; Marcum cinnamon, sold at Save A Lot; MK cinnamon, sold at SF Supermarket; Swad, sold at Patel Brothers; Supreme Tradition, sold at both Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; and El Chilar cinnamon, which was sold at Latoya Morelense, in Baltimore, Maryland.
The products contain elevated lead levels that range from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million. The official FDA announcement, including label images, lot codes and best-by dates, can be found here.
If you are in possession of any of these products, you are advised to stop using them and discard them: “Consumers should not eat, sell, or serve ground cinnamon products,” the FDA states in the recall.
If you suspect you or someone else has been exposed to elevated levels of lead by consuming these or any other products, you are advised to consult a healthcare provider. You should also report any adverse reactions to lead exposure from the products to the FDA’s MedWatch Safety Information and Adverse Event Reporting Program.
“Most people have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure,” the FDA says. However, long-term exposure over months or even years to foods contaminated with lead is especially dangerous to those who may already have elevated lead exposure and to very young children, potentially leading to neurological issues including learning disabilities, behavior problems and decreased IQ.
The FDA’s action regarding these six ground cinnamon products follows the agency’s October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products that were also found to contain elevated lead levels that were linked to the cinnamon in them. That recall prompted the agency to survey and analyze ground cinnamon sold at discount retail stores to ascertain the amount of lead and chromium they contained.
“Based on FDA’s assessment, prolonged exposure to these products may be unsafe and could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood,” the FDA warned.
However, the agency added, “No illnesses or adverse events have been reported to date in association with these products.”
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