Cinnamon, spice and ‘everything nice’ – why lead-tainted cinnamon products have turned up on shelves, and what questions consumers should ask
Katarzyna Kordas receives research funding from National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She has participated on expert panels convened by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, as well as the Institute of Food Technologists. She did not receive payment for panel participation.
Spices bring up feelings of comfort, cultural belonging and holidays. They can make our homes smell amazing and our food taste delicious. They can satisfy our cravings, expand our culinary horizons and help us eat things that we might normally dislike. Spices have health-enhancing properties and, in medicine, have been used to heal people since the ancient times.
In September 2024, Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization created to inform consumers about products sold in the U.S., investigated more than three dozen ground cinnamon products and found that 1 in 3 contained lead levels above 1 part per million, enough to trigger a recall in New York, one U.S. state that has published guidelines for heavy metals in spices.
The Food and Drug Administration issued three alerts throughout 2024, warning consumers about lead in certain brands of cinnamon products. Such notices rightfully put consumers on alert and have people wondering if the spice products they buy are safe – or not.
