Check your spices: Investigation finds high lead levels in cinnamon products
ByWSOCTV.com News Staff and Consumer Reports
Cinnamon FILE - Stick and ground cinnamon is displayed for a photograph in Concord, N.H., on March 2, 2008. Many foods, including spices, contain lead from natural sources such as soil and water, said Karen Everstine, technical director for FoodchainID, a company that tracks food supply chains. Spices can accumulate lead from other sources in the environment, such as leaded gasoline or other pollution. Some lead in spices may come from manufacturing, storage or shipping processes. (AP Photo/Larry Crowe, File)
ByWSOCTV.com News Staff and Consumer Reports
You may want to check your spice cabinet. A new investigation found high lead levels in cinnamon products.
Consumer Reports tested 36 brands. It said 12 had high enough levels to deem a recall in the state of New York.
Right now, the FDA does not set lead-level thresholds for spices.
The study comes after North Carolina sparked a major recall of lead-contaminated cinnamon applesauce pouches.
Here’s a list of the brands Consumer Reports tested:
Lead in 36 Cinnamon Powders Tested by Consumer Reports Twelve ground cinnamon powders and spice blends tested by CR had lead levels above 1 part per million, a level that New York state uses to indicate products that should be recalled. CR’s food safety experts say you should avoid those products. Depending on their lead content, the amount of the other products that are okay to consume each day ranges from up to ¼ teaspoon to nearly 16 teaspoons.
Lead in 36 Cinnamon Powders Tested by Consumer Reports Twelve ground cinnamon powders and spice blends tested by CR had lead levels above 1 part per million, a level that New York state uses to indicate products that should be recalled. CR’s food safety experts say you should avoid those products. Depending on their lead content, the amount of the other products that are okay to consume each day ranges from up to ¼ teaspoon to nearly 16 teaspoons.
Lead in 36 Cinnamon Powders Tested by Consumer Reports Twelve ground cinnamon powders and spice blends tested by CR had lead levels above 1 part per million, a level that New York state uses to indicate products that should be recalled. CR’s food safety experts say you should avoid those products. Depending on their lead content, the amount of the other products that are okay to consume each day ranges from up to ¼ teaspoon to nearly 16 teaspoons.
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