FDA issues new warning about lead contamination in cinnamon

NBC News

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported in a new alert issued on Thursday that it has identified another cinnamon product for sale in the United States that has been contaminated with lead.

This is El Servidor brand cinnamon powder. The product is distributed by a company in Elmhurst, New York, which bears the same name as the city and joins a growing list of cinnamon products flagged by the FDA for being contaminated with high levels of lead.

It was through testing that cinnamon was found to have elevated levels of lead — 20 parts per million. While the FDA has not set limits for lead levels in spices, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has proposed an international safety standard of 2.5 parts per million of lead for spice barks like cinnamon.

The FDA asked the distributor to voluntarily withdraw the product.

In March, the agency issued warnings about lead in cinnamon sold at Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and other stores. Those products had lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million.

A sample of cinnamon used in WanaBana applesauce — previously recalled — was also found to have 5,110 parts per million of lead.

The cinnamon identified in the new alert was sold at a New York City supermarket. It’s unclear whether it was distributed more widely. The FDA did not respond to a request for comment.

Leigh Frame, director of integrative medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, called the new recall “alarming.”

“We assume products are safe until proven otherwise,” she said. “It’s only when people get sick that products are actually pulled from the market, and that can be too late; people have already consumed them.”

In a perfect world, he added, the FDA would anticipate product announcements and test products for dangerous contaminants before people are exposed to them.

“It’s a little scary to think about all the products that could be lurking in our food system because we don’t have the resources (to uncover them),” Frame added.

No illnesses were reported in the FDA alert. The agency advised consumers to stop using the product and throw it away.

Lead is toxic, especially for children.

Elevated levels of lead can be extremely toxic to the body, particularly for young children, who are at greater risk due to their smaller body size and the fact that they are still growing. High levels of lead exposure in this age group can cause long-term neurological and developmental problemssuch as learning disabilities and lower IQ.

Frame doesn’t believe consumers should eliminate cinnamon entirely, but recommends limiting exposure, particularly for young children.

“If you eat oatmeal with cinnamon every morning, it might be a good idea to switch that up for a while until we figure out what we know, just to reduce your exposure,” she said.

Symptoms of lead exposure may include:

  • Headache.
  • Abdominal pain.
  • Fatigue.