Consumer Reports flags 12 cinnamon products with high lead levels

A report recently released from Consumer Reports identifies 12 cinnamon products to have high enough lead levels to prompt a recall in New York. The nonprofit, which helps consumers assess the safety and performance of goods, tested for lead in 36 ground cinnamon products and spice blends that contain cinnamon, including brands like Badia, McCormick and Morton & Bassett. Spices were purchased from 17 different stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and online.

All products that measure above one part per million (ppm) lead to recalls in New York state, which is the only state that regulates heavy metals in spices, the report states, and New York has recalled over 100 spices due to heavy metal contamination since it set the limit back in 2016. The report’s data has been shared with state officials for further investigation.

Simply a quarter teaspoon of any of the mentioned cinnamon products contains more lead than an individual should consume in an entire day, James Rogers, the director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports, said.

“If you have one of those products, we think you should throw it away,” according to Rogers. “Even small amounts of lead pose a risk because, over time, it can accumulate in the body and remain there for years, seriously harming health.”

The New York State Department of Health referred the USA TODAY Network to the state Department of Agriculture and Markets, which has not immediately responded to a request for comment, but the report states the Department of Health “could not comment on our test results but that it regularly monitors food products, including spices, for hazards and “takes swift action to remove these products from shelves” when problems are found.”

Here’s what to know.

Which products Consumer Reports recommends you don’t use

• Paras Cinnamon Powder, 3.52 ppm

• EGN Cinnamon Powder, 2.91 ppm

• Mimi’s Products Ground Cinnamon, 2.03 ppm

• Bowl & Basket Ground Cinnamon, 1.82 ppm

• Rani Brand Ground Cinnamon, 1.39 ppm

• Zara Foods Cinnamon Powder, 1.27 ppm

• Three Rivers Cinnamon Stick Powder, 1.26 ppm

• Yu Yee Brand Five Spice Powder, 1.25 ppm

• BaiLiFeng Five Spice Powder, 1.15 ppm

• Spicy King Five Spices Powder, 1.05 ppm

• Badia Cinnamon Powder, 1.03 ppm

• Deep Cinnamon Powder, 1.02 ppm

Which products Consumer Reports says are OK to use

• Happy Belly Ground Cinnamon, 0.87 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Kirkland Signature Organic Saigon Cinnamon, 0.80 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Great Value Ground Cinnamon, 0.79 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Penzeys Ceylon Cinnamon, 0.78 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Ziyad Brand Premium Seven Spice Blend, 0.73 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Trader Joe’s Organic Ground Cinnamon, 0.69 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• The Spice Lab Organic Ground Cinnamon, 0.60 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Good & Gather Ground Cinnamon, 0.56 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Morton & Bassett San Francisco Ground Cinnamon, 0.55 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Penzeys Vietnamese Cinnamon, 0.55 ppm (can use up to 1/4 teaspoon daily)

• Swad Garam Masala Powder, 0.40 ppm (can use up to 1/2 teaspoon daily)

• Penzeys Ground Cinnamon, 0.37 ppm (can use up to 1/2 teaspoon daily)

• Wei-Chuan Five Spice Powder, 0.36 ppm (can use up to 1/2 teaspoon daily)

• Natural Plus Green Five Spices Powder, 0.35 ppm (can use up to 1/2 teaspoon daily)

• Simply Organic Cinnamon, 0.28 ppm (can use up to 3/4 teaspoon daily)

• Shan Garam Masala Powder, 0.28 ppm (can use up to 3/4 teaspoon daily)

• Abido Spices 7 Mixed Spices, 0.23 ppm (can use up to one teaspoon daily)

• McCormick Cinnamon, 0.23 ppm (can use up to one teaspoon daily)

Which products Consumer Reports says are best to use

• Sadaf Seven Spice, 0.15 ppm (can use up to 1 1/2 teaspoons daily)

• 365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon, 0.12 ppm (can use up to two teaspoons daily)

• Loisa Organic Cinnamon, 0.04 ppm (can use up to 5 3/4 teaspoons daily)

• Morton & Bassett San Francisco 100% Organic Ground Cinnamon, 0.04 ppm (can use up to six teaspoons daily)

• Sadaf Cinnamon Powder, 0.04 ppm (can use up to 6 3/4 teaspoons daily)

• 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon, 0.02 ppm (can use up to 16 teaspoons daily)

See full list of recalled brands: More cinnamon recalled for high lead levels

Paras and EGN to stop selling their products

Following Consumer Reports’ report, Paras and EGN told the nonprofit that they would stop selling their cinnamon powder products and remove them from stores’ shelves.

Deep and Yu Yee Brand told Consumer Reports that they “tested their product or relied on tests from their suppliers.”

Mimi’s Products relies on analytical reports provided by its vendors, which indicate that “no lead levels exceeding 1 part per million were found in our ground cinnamon,” a spokesperson for NAC Foods, the manufacturer of Mimi’s Products, told USA TODAY.

Wakefern Food Corp., the owner of ShopRite Bowl & Basket, told CNN that “the quality of our products is of the utmost importance and our cinnamon meets all safety and quality standards.”

Badia Spices’ ground cinnamon products comply with all federal and international laws, a spokesperson for the company told the outlet.

McCormick told Consumer Reports that it monitors “environmental conditions that may increase the natural occurrence of heavy metals.” Simply Organic said that it has adopted New York state’s limits and it conducts “comprehensive in-house inspections and additional product testing for every shipment of incoming material,” according to the nonprofit.

USA TODAY has contacted several other companies named in the report but has not received a response.

Emily Barnes reports on consumer-related issues for the USA TODAY Network’s New York State Team, focusing on scam and recall-related topics. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Consumer Reports flags 12 cinnamon products with high lead levels