
If you have cinnamon or spice blends sitting in your pantry, it's time to dispose of them immediately.
Recent testing by Consumer Reports found that 12 ground cinnamon powders and spice blends contain lead levels exceeding 1 part per million (ppm), which is enough to trigger a recall in New York and surpasses the safety threshold for lead exposure (which the Environmental Protection Agency deems as zero).
Earlier this year, the FDA issued a warning about six ground cinnamon brands with excessive lead levels and later expanded the warning to cover additional cinnamon powders and cinnamon-containing products like fruit puree pouches. Although the FDA urged distributors to recall the affected items voluntarily, they can't mandate a store removal.
Which spice powders contain dangerously high amounts of lead?
Consumer Reports identifies the following powdered spices as having high levels of lead:
Paras Cinnamon Powder
EGN Cinnamon Powder
Mimi's Products Ground Cinnamon
ShopRight Bowl & Basket Ground Cinnamon
Rani Brand Ground Cinnamon
Zara Foods Cinnamon Powder
Three Rivers Cinnamon Stick Powder
Yu Yee Brand Five Spice Powder
BaiLiFeng Five Spice Powder
Spicy King Five Spices Powder
Badia Cinnamon Powder
Deep Cinnamon Powder
While Consumer Reports' findings don't lead to an official recall, both Paras and EGN have stated they will work with retailers to remove their cinnamon powders from store shelves. Regardless of this, you should discard these spices if you have them at home.
Which cinnamon powders are safe for use?
While Consumer Reports has flagged 12 cinnamon and cinnamon-containing spices that should be discarded immediately, there are safer alternatives that can be used in quantities ranging from 1.5 to 16 teaspoons daily:
Sadaf Seven Spice
365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon
Loisa Organic Cinnamon
Morten & Bassett San Francisco 100% Organic Ground Cinnamon
Sadaf Cinnamon Powder
365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon
Additionally, it's likely safe to use small amounts—between 0.25 and 1 teaspoon depending on the brand—of cinnamon and cinnamon-containing blends from Great Value, Penzeys, Ziyad Brand, Trader Joe's, The Spice Lab, Good & Gather, Swad, Wei-Chuan, Natural Plus Green, Simply Organic, Shan, Abido Spices, and McCormick.
