There’s something about the transition from summer to fall that makes us want to reach for everything cinnamon, but recent reports have raised alarms about an unwanted ingredient that may be lurking in your favorite seasonal spice: lead.
A Consumer Reports study published September 12 found that 12 out of 36 ground cinnamon products contained high levels of lead, and earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration issued health alerts after detecting elevated levels in several popular brands. Both of these investigations were prompted by the October 2023 recall of contaminated cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products linked to 519 lead and chromium poisoning cases.
While lead is a naturally occurring metal, it poses serious health risks when ingested, especially for children and pregnant women. Though lead is largely unavoidable in the environment and our food supply, there is no known “safe” level of lead contamination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As such, the recent news about heavy metal contamination in cinnamon may have you wondering how safe the spice really is—and whether you’re better off skipping it altogether this season. Here’s what you need to know about the status of cinnamon.
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In March and July, the FDA issued public alerts for brands of cinnamon that it said had unacceptably-high lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm). The agency recommended the voluntary recall of ground cinnamon products from the brands Compania Indillor Orientale, ALB Flavor, Shahzada, Spice Class, La Frontera, El Chilar, Marcum, SWAD, and Supreme Tradition.
Next came the study from Consumer Reports, which tested 36 cinnamon products and spice blends that included cinnamon. They flagged 12 for containing lead levels above 1 ppm, the threshold that triggers a recall in New York, the only state that regulates heavy metals in spices.
Consumer Reports found that Paras had the highest lead concentration, at 3.52 ppm. The 11 additional brands, ranging from highest lead level to lowest, were EGN, Mimi’s Products, Bowl & Basket, Rani Brand, Zara Foods, Three Rivers, Yu Yee Brand, BaiLiFeng, Spicy King, Badia, and Deep.
Consumer Reports does not perform compliance testing, so it could not issue a recall based on these findings but notified the state of New York.
Laura Shumow, executive director of the American Spice Trade Association (ASTA), an industry group representing more than 90% of U.S. spice companies, told Health that the lead limit used by Consumer Reports is lower than what’s recommended by the ASTA, FDA, and European Commission. Under these guidelines, only three brands in the Consumer Reports testing—Paras, EGN, and Mimi’s Products—would fail to meet these levels.
Lead in cinnamon and other spices can occur through two pathways: unintentional contamination and adulteration.
Natural lead contamination can occur at various stages, including during growth, harvesting, and processing. As a naturally occurring heavy metal, lead can infiltrate soil and water sources, contaminating crops. This includes cinnamon, which comes from the bark and leaves of an evergreen cinnamon tree.
Lead can also leach into cinnamon from sources such as leaded gasoline, mining regions, and construction sites, Bryan Quoc Le, PhD, a food scientist and food industry consultant, told Health. The lead can seep into the surrounding waterways, which “will absorb lead into the tree and incorporate it into the bark,” he said.
The equipment used in the grinding process might also contain lead, which can contaminate the final product. Unintentional contamination often leads to trace amounts of lead in the spice.
The more concerning issue is adulteration, in which lead is deliberately added to the spice. “Suppliers may add lead to cinnamon because it’s sold based on price per weight,” Jerold Mande, an adjunct professor of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Health. “So if you put an additive in that increases the weight, like lead does, you’re going to make more money.”
People may intentionally add compounds that look a lot like cinnamon, which may result in very high levels of lead, Kelly Magurany, senior manager of toxicology at NSF, told Health. Imported products may be more likely to be laced with these compounds.
Currently, there’s no consensus on whether the lead found in the tested cinnamon products was intentionally added or leached through environmental exposure.
The FDA regulates spices, including cinnamon, but there are no federal limits on lead or other heavy metals.
The agency can choose to monitor spices for lead and issue alerts to the public based on its own or a state’s monitoring. Still, routine testing for heavy metals isn’t commonplace in the U.S., Magurany said.
Mande, a former senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, blames a lack of funding. “Congress doesn’t adequately fund the regulatory agencies that are responsible for assuring the safety of our food,” he said.
The lack of oversight leaves it up to companies to take proactive measures, according to Magurany. “Some companies test for heavy metals and note this on their website or product labels,” Magurany said. However, many spice brands simply purchase their cinnamon from suppliers, repackage it, and put their labels on it.
“If the brands aren’t testing it, they potentially may not realize that it contains high amounts of lead,” Mande said.
If you’re concerned about the brands you use frequently, using social media to ask questions and demand transparency can be an effective strategy, Jackie Bowen, MS, MPH, executive director of Clean Label Project, a national nonprofit aiming to bring transparency to food and consumer product labeling, told Health.
Experts say there’s no need to eliminate cinnamon from your diet entirely. But if you’re worried about consuming ground cinnamon, a good place to start is to take stock of what’s already in your pantry.
If you have any products flagged by Consumer Reports, tossing them might be the safest move. The FDA also advises avoiding brands it has found to have elevated lead levels, many of which are lesser known and available at small grocery stores. Paras and EGN, the two companies with the highest lead levels, informed Consumers Reports that they have already asked stores to pull these products from the shelves.
However, Shumow said that ASTA believes consumers should feel confident in cinnamon from major U.S. brands that reputable retailers sell.
Those are the products Magurany suggested choosing as well. “Opt for reputable, well-known brands that have strong food safety practices and are transparent about food safety and testing,” she said. She noted that organic products, especially those certified by third-party bodies, may have stricter safety protocols.
If possible, one option is to consider the products listed by Consumer Reports as the cinnamon brands with the lowest levels of lead: 365 Whole Foods Market, Sadaf, Loisa, and Morton & Bassett San Francisco.
Whole cinnamon may also be less likely to contain lead than ground cinnamon, said Quoc Le, as there is less exposure to lead-containing grinding equipment. (There’s also no potential for adulteration.)
Ultimately, heavy metal contamination isn’t just a cinnamon issue, Mande said, but a broader food safety problem in the U.S. He’d like more vigilance from manufacturers and regulatory bodies to ensure consumer safety. But for now, it’s vital to stay informed about the foods you eat—including the products on your spice rack.
