If you have cinnamon or spice blends living in your pantry, you may need to throw them out right now.
Recent testing conducted by Consumer Reports found that 12 ground cinnamon powders and spice blends contain lead at levels higher than 1 part per million (ppm), enough to meet standards for a recall in New York and above the threshold considered safe for lead exposure (which the Environmental Protection Agency says is, well, zero).
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cautioned consumers about six brands of ground cinnamon found to have excessive levels of lead and later extended the warning to include additional cinnamon powders and cinnamon-containing products such as fruit puree pouches. The FDA asked distributors to voluntarily recall the affected products but cannot force a removal from stores.
Which spice powders have high levels of lead?
According to Consumer Reports, the following powdered spices have high levels of lead:
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Paras Cinnamon Powder
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EGN Cinnamon Powder
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Mimi’s Products Ground Cinnamon
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ShopRight Bowl & Basket Ground Cinnamon
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Rani Brand Ground Cinnamon
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Zara Foods Cinnamon Powder
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Three Rivers Cinnamon Stick Powder
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Yu Yee Brand Five Spice Powder
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BaiLiFeng Five Spice Powder
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Spicy King Five Spices Powder
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Badia Cinnamon Powder
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Deep Cinnamon Powder
Consumer Reports testing doesn’t trigger a formal recall, but both Paras and EGN have indicated that they will have retailers remove their cinnamon powders from shelves. Regardless of how manufacturers respond, you should get rid of these spices if they are in your pantry.
Which cinnamon powders are safe to use?
While Consumer Reports identified 12 cinnamon and cinnamon-containing spices you should toss immediately, there are alternatives that are safe in quantities ranging from 1.5 to 16 teaspoons daily:
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Sadaf Seven Spice
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365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon
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Loisa Organic Cinnamon
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Morten & Bassett San Francisco 100% Organic Ground Cinnamon
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Sadaf Cinnamon Powder
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365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon
In addition, you are probably fine to use smaller quantities—between 0.25 and 1 teaspoon depending on the brand—of cinnamon and cinnamon-containing spice 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.
