Cinnamon and Other Spices Can Contain Lead. Here’s What to Know

The following text is reprinted with the user’s permission The conversationan online publication featuring the latest research.

Spices bring feelings comfort, cultural belonging and holidays. They can make it ours the houses smell wonderful and our food tastes delicious. They can satisfy our desires, expand our culinary horizons and help us eat things we would normally like. Spices have health enhancing properties and, in medicine, they have been used to heal people since ancient times.

Lately, however, spices have been getting a bad rap.

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In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a non-profit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the US, investigated. more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 had lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, a US state. published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.

It was issued by the Food and Drug Administration three alerts during 2024warning consumers about lead in certain brands of cinnamon products. Such notices rightly put consumers on alert and make people wonder if the spice products they buy are safe.

as an environmental epidemiologist with training in nutritional sciencesI investigated the relationship between nutritional status, diet and heavy metal exposure in children.

There are several things consumers should think about about lead and other heavy metals in cinnamon.

Why is lead found in cinnamon?

Most people are familiar with cinnamon in two forms: the sticks and the ground spice. Both come from the dried inner bark of the cinnamon tree, which is harvested after a few years of planting. For the US market, it’s cinnamon largely imported from Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India and China.

One way that lead accumulates on the bark of cinnamon trees is when the trees are grown in contaminated soil. Lead can also be introduced into cinnamon products during processing, such as grinding.

When ground cinnamon is prepared, some producers may intentionally add lead compounds to improve the weight or color of the product and thereby obtain a higher selling price. This is called “food adulteration,” and products with known or suspected adulteration are denied entry into the US.

However, in the fall of 2023, about 600 cases of high blood lead levels in the US, defined as levels of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter or higher, mostly among children, were linked to consumption. some brands of cinnamon applesauce. The levels of cinnamic lead used in the manufacture of these products ranged from 2,270 to 5,110 parts per million, indicating food adulteration. It was a manufacturing plant It has been investigated by the FDA.

More broadly, spices bought from vendors They have lower lead levels in the US than those sold abroad.

There is some evidence cinnamon sticks have lower levels of lead rather than ground spice. Lead levels sold in the US and analyzed by Consumer Reports ranged from 0.02 to 3.52 parts per million. These levels were at least 1,500 times lower than in adulterated cinnamon.

There are no federal guidelines for lead or other heavy metals in spices. It has been proposed by the state of New York even more stringent guidelines than the 1 part per million levelIt would allow the New York Department of Agriculture and Markets to remove products from commerce if lead levels exceed 0.21 parts per million.

What does ‘the dose make the poison’ mean?

the current FDA guidance on daily intake of lead from diets in general is to limit children’s lead intake to 2.2 micrograms per day. For women of reproductive age, this value is 8.8 micrograms.

The dose of lead we get from food depends on the level of lead in the food and how much of that food we eat. Higher doses mean more potential harm. It also means the frequency with which we consume food – every day and occasionally.

For spices like cinnamon, the amount and frequency of consumption depends on cultural traditions and personal preferences. For many, cinnamon is a seasonal spice; others use it all year round in savory dishes or sauces.

Cinnamon is a favorite in baking. Take the cinnamon recipe calls for 1.5 teaspoons (a little less than 12 grams) of the spice. If a recipe yields 12 rolls, each will contain about 1 gram of cinnamon. in the year Consumer Reports researchSome cinnamon products were classified as “good for use” or “best for use”.

The highest lead value for cinnamon products was 0.87 parts per million in the “good to use” category, and 0.15 parts per million in the “best to use” category. A child would need to consume 2.5 rolls or more to exceed the FDA guideline for “safe” cinnamon, which limits lead intake from foods to 2.2 micrograms per day, assuming no other foods contain lead. To exceed that “best before” cinnamon guideline, a child would have to eat 15 or more rolls.

Can cinnamon help raise blood lead levels?

Because of the developmental effects of lead early in life, the greatest concern is exposure to young children and pregnant women. Lead is absorbed in the small intestine, where it can bind to cell receptors they evolved to carry iron and other metals.

The effect of a contaminating species on a person’s blood lead level depends on the exposure dose and the proportion of lead available for intestinal absorption. For various species, The proportion of available lead was 49%that is, about half of the ingested lead will be absorbed.

Lead absorption is greater after fasting three hours or moreand skip breakfast may have higher blood lead levels in children.

People with nutritional deficiencies, such as iron deficiency, tend to absorb more lead have higher blood lead levels. This is because our body compensates for the deficiency by creating more receptors to absorb iron from food. Lead takes advantage of additional receptors to enter the body. Young children and pregnant women are at higher risk of developing iron deficiency, so there’s good reason Monitoring of lead in food they consume

Studies show that children in the US are contaminated with lead poisoning spices were one of several sources of lead exposure. Studies that estimate blood lead levels based on statistical models suggests that consuming 5 micrograms or more of lead from spices each day can help raise blood lead levels.

For occasional or seasonal consumption, or lower levels of contamination, more research is needed to understand how lead in spices would affect blood lead levels.

For people with multiple sources of lead in the home, work, or hobbies, additional lead from foods or spices may be more important because it adds to the cumulative dose from multiple sources of exposure.

How to test for high blood lead levels

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends this Children at risk of lead exposure have their blood lead screened at ages 1 and 2. Children can also take the test. Finger prick tests are usually done in pediatric offices, but results may need to be confirmed with venous blood if the test result is high.

Adults in the US are not routinely tested for lead exposure, but concerned couples planning to have children should talk to their health care providers.

What to consider when using or buying cinnamon or other spices

If the product is in a FDA alert or Consumer Reports “do not use” list, discard

Other questions to consider are:

• Does your household use spices often and in large quantities?

• Do young children or pregnant women in your household consume spices?

• Do you usually consume spices in breakfast foods or drinks?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then buy good quality products from large, reputable sellers. Consider using cinnamon sticks if possible.

And keep enjoying the spices!

This article was originally published The conversation. read it original article.