Here's a recap from last week's Good Day Alabama:
You might remember a year ago when high levels of lead were found in cinnamon applesauce pouches that are marketed to children. Investigators believe that dozens of children may have been poisoned. Several children tested positive for lead poisoning and many others suffered “adverse effects” that are typical with high lead exposure. There is no recognized safe level of lead in foods, so less is best. Prolonged exposure is particularly dangerous for children. It can stunt their growth, delay puberty, lower IQ, and cause learning disabilities. In adults, lead buildup in the body over months and years can cause high blood pressure, joint and muscle pain, headaches, and problems with memory and concentration,
Now, ground cinnamon and spice blends are under scrutiny for high lead levels. Again, there are no federal guidelines for safe levels of heavy metals in food. So basically, zero is what’s considered safe! But practically speaking, we take a “less is best” approach. Consumer Reports just published their findings from tests of many major cinnamon products. They used a cutoff of 1 ppm (parts per million) and recommended that we throw away any products at that level or higher. They also published the spice brands that were below the 1 ppm cutoff.
Cinnamon Brands Highest in Lead:
Paras 3.52 ppm
EGN 2.91
Mimi's Products 2.03
Bowl & Basket 1.82
Rani Brand 1.39
Zara Foods 1.27
Three Rivers 1.26
Badia 1.03
Deep 1.02
Luckily, lots of brands have fewer than 1 ppm of lead.
Cinnamon Brands Lowest in Lead:
Happy Belly 0.87 ppm
Kirkland Signature Organic Saigon Cinnamon 0.80
Great Value 0.79
Penzeys Ceylon cinnamon 0.78
Trader Joe's organic cinnamon 0.69
The Spice Lab organic cinnamon 0.60
Good & Gather 0.56
Penzeys Vietnamese cinnamon 0.55
Morton & Bassett 0.55
Penzeys 0.37
Simply Organic 0.28
McCormick 0.23
Whole Foods Market 0.12
Morton & Bassett organic cinnamon 0.04
Loisa organic cinnamon 0.04
Sadaf 0.04
Whole Foods Market organic cinnamon 0.02
You have a lot of safe cinnamon choices! I am tossing out my Badia and I bought some McCormick. If you don’t use a lot of cinnamon, then you probably shouldn’t worry too much about it. But it’s easy to find and buy cinnamon that is lower in lead – so why take that chance? Plus, we get lead from other food sources too so making smart choices matters. So, practice safe cinnamon everyone!
Beth Kitchin PhD RDN