A Dozen Cinnamon Powders Were Found To Contain Alarming Lead Levels

Food safety scientists at Consumer Reports have discovered that 12 ground cinnamon products currently on the market contain unsafe levels of lead. Consumers who ingest even a small quantity of ground cinnamon from one of these dozen brands are at a high risk of lead exposure which can lead to uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous health symptoms such as lead toxicity.

Consumer Reports released the names of the 12 cinnamon powder products with high amounts of lead: Badia cinnamon powder, BaiLiFeng five spice powder, Bowl & Basket ground cinnamon, Deep cinnamon Powder, EGN cinnamon powder, Mimi's Products ground cinnamon, Paras cinnamon powder, Rani Brand ground cinnamon, Spicy King five spices powder, Three Rivers cinnamon stick powder, Yu Yee Brand five spice powder, and Zara Foods cinnamon powder. Food safety specialists recommend that consumers stop the use of these products immediately and throw them away if they are discovered in the home — just as they did with lead-contaminated Lunchables. 

Luckily, these same tests from Consumer Reports also concluded that certain cinnamon products, including the 365 Whole Foods Market brand, were found to have extremely low levels of lead that are safe to consume — so there is still a possibility that bakers can make their homemade cinnamon rolls from scratch without any worry of lead exposure.

Back in November of 2023, the Food and Drug Administration released a statement recalling three different brands of cinnamon applesauce pouches due to high levels of lead and chromium found in the product's puree. This was especially concerning since the product was mainly consumed by young children who have an even higher risk of developing lead toxicity. A larger cinnamon recall was announced by the FDA just a few months later, also containing higher than normal amounts of lead.

With this data in mind, Consumer Reports conducted tests on 36 ground cinnamon products that are currently available for consumers to purchase, and found that one-third of them contain over one part per million of lead. While this may not sound like much, the food safety researcher James Rogers reported that even "a quarter teaspoon of any of those products has more lead than you should consume in an entire day." 

While children and pregnant people are the most at risk for lead poisoning, adults can also experience health issues due to lead exposure such as high blood pressure, headaches, cramps, and fatigue. Luckily, this data informs consumers about which brands are safe to buy and which to avoid, so keep this in mind next time cinnamon finds its way on your grocery list. If you are still worried about using cinnamon for the time being, try trading it in for these uncommon spices that will impress everyone you cook for.