More than a dozen ground cinnamon products have been recalled over the last year, after the Food and Drug Administration boosted efforts to monitor and test lead levels, following last year's recall of apple-cinnamon puree products linked with over 500 cases of lead poisoning in children.
An analysis by Consumer Reports of 36 brands of cinnamon powders and spice blends identified 12 products with lead levels above 1 part per million, the New York state limit on lead in spices.
The spate of recalls demonstrates challenges in removing naturally occurring lead and other heavy metals in spices and shows gaps in federal spice regulations, some food safety experts say.
Even a small amount of lead over time can pose a risk because it can accumulate in the body. CR notes that exposure to lead and heavy metals is most pressing among children, as it can damage the brain and nervous system.
CR testing found 12 brands with lead levels between 1 and 3.52 ppm and recommended consumers avoid those products. It identified another 18 brands where consumption should be limited to about one-quarter to one-half a teaspoon daily due to lead levels.
“The presence of those heavy metals in some cases are hard to control because in some cases is natural contamination,” said Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, director of the Center for Food Safety at the University of Georgia.
Natural contamination can lead to levels of lead in cinnamon and other spices between 2 and 5 ppm, Diez-Gonzalez said. It takes about 10 or more years for trees that produce cinnamon to grow before spice is harvested from the bark — where lead from soil can concentrate.
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Diez-Gonzalez said it’s difficult to control natural occurrences but it’s up to companies to test to ensure their product has safe levels.
This year FDA has issued safety alerts for 17 cinnamon products due to elevated lead levels ranging from 2 to 20 ppm, according to the agency.
FDA launched a Closer to Zero policy to address the level of certain toxins that could be harmful, particularly to children and babies. This includes lead, arsenic, chromium and more.
The agency began testing and surveillance of spices more heavily, however, following high lead levels in some cinnamon-apple pouches. In 2023 WanaBana LLC voluntarily recalled all its apple cinnamon fruit puree pouches after a North Carolina state lab linked them to elevated blood lead levels in children. Other brands, including Schnucks and Weis, also recalled pouches.
An investigation by the items' distributor found cinnamon was the source of elevated lead levels. FDA identified a cinnamon grinder in Ecuador as the likely source of the lead.
Some products contained lead levels over 2,000 times higher than proposed safety limits, around 3,000 ppm.
Recent public incidents are likely due to FDA’s new policies to address lead and other heavy metals, Diez-Gonzalez said. Such lead levels have always been in food with less attention.
Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, urged FDA to take additional action to address lead contamination in spices, specifically setting a national limit on the metal.
Currently, the agency is unofficially using a 2 ppm limit, a guidance suggested by the American Spice Trade Association and used by other countries and international organizations, said Roberta Wagner, senior vice president of regulatory and scientific affairs at the International Dairy Foods Association.
FDA did not respond to a request for comment on efforts to set a federal limit on lead in spices.
Having a federal limit similar to New York's makes it easier for manufacturers to know what the action level is and when FDA will flag a product, Ronholm said.
Regulating and enforcing lead levels at much lower concentration could drive up the cost of food because the items that meet the criteria are likely a minority of the supply, Diez-Gonzalez said.
Part of the delay in setting a federal limit could be due in part to chronic underfunding in the FDA foods program, Ronholm said. Additionally, it is an issue that doesn’t get much congressional attention, he continued.
“So it kind of creates this culture within the agency of this not being a very high priority, and that’s something that’s kind of built up for years,” Ronholm said.
A wide range of products have the potential for natural lead contamination, he said, making it challenging to regulate. Naturally occurring levels of lead are not immediately apparent; rather there is a long-term buildup. This makes it difficult for lawmakers to prioritize funding, Ronholm said.
Spices have been a "sore spot" for the agency, in part because they are consumed in low amounts and are less likely to have major public health impacts, Wagner said.
“I look at this as a failure in the system,” she said.
The Food Safety Modernization Act requires importers to verify ingredients like spices meet U.S. standards. Other programs require a hazard analysis for foods and ingredients.
However, Wagner said recent recalls demonstrate importers are not completing safety measures and there may be a breakdown in regulatory oversight. She explained that FDA can inspect importers to ensure they are doing the hazard analysis or do testing at the border.
Wagner said FDA has been receptive to concerns by food safety and industry groups over such gaps and has indicated it is taking a “serious look” at how it conducts oversight over importers.
Wagner, who previously ran FDA import operations in Baltimore, explained that millions of lines of food and ingredients enter the country from hundreds of locations. The volume makes it difficult for FDA to address the problem at the border. She suggested the agency needs to spot-check with sampling or physical examination of products.
“They understand that something went awry here and they can do a little bit better,” Wagner said. She mentioned that FDA is taking some steps to boost its monitoring, like introducing AI to its data systems.
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