US Spice Recall: Another Product Added to Health Alert Over Lead Fears

In a list that seems ever growing, more products have been added to a nationwide cinnamon recall over concerns that they may be contaminated with lead.

The latest announcement from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) adds Asli brand ground cinnamon to the recall list as it reportedly contains “elevated levels of lead.”

“We’ve already started doing a voluntary recall on that product,” a spokesperson for Asli Fine Foods told Newsweek. “We just initiated it yesterday with the press release, and then today we’re initiating it with all the stores that we’ve supplied, asking them to take it off the shelf.”

The FDA is advising consumers to “stop using and dispose of the ground cinnamon products listed,” adding that “consumers should not eat, sell, or serve ground cinnamon products listed.”

Other brands part of the recall include El Chilar, Marcum, SWAD, Supreme Tradition, Compania Indillor Orientale, ALB Flavor, Shahzada, Spice Class and La Frontera.

Lead is a toxic metal found in nature that can take the place of calcium in our bones and teeth. This allows the heavy metal to be stored in our bodies for many years after first exposure. Over time, the lead can accumulate and later reenter our bloodstream.

The metal has been linked to various neurological and cardiovascular disorders, along with issues affecting the kidneys, blood, immune system and reproductive health.

“Based on FDA’s assessment, consuming these products could contribute to elevated levels of lead in the blood,” the FDA said in a statement on July 30.

“Long-term exposure [months to years] to elevated levels of lead in the diet could contribute to adverse health effects, particularly for the portion of the population that may already have elevated blood lead levels from other exposures to lead.”

Effects from consuming the contaminated products vary depending on several factors. Namely, the level of lead in the food, age of the consumer, length, amount and frequency of exposure to lead in the food, and other exposures to different sources of lead.

“For example, the very young are particularly vulnerable to the potential harmful effects from lead exposure because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth,” the FDA said. “High levels of exposure to lead in utero, infancy, and early childhood can lead to neurological effects such as learning disabilities, behavior difficulties, and lowered IQ.”

The levels of lead in the most recent round of product recalls range from 2.03 to 7.01 parts per million (ppm)—significantly lower than WanaBana cinnamon products recalled in the fall of 2023 that had between 2,270 ppm to 5,110 ppm lead in the cinnamon.

The Asli brand products recalled were found to contain lead concentrations of 2.32 ppm.

The FDA said that there is “no known safe level of lead exposure.”

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