Testing Finds Dangerous Contaminant in These Cinnamon Brands

You might want to double-check which cinnamon you buy for your autumnal dishes this fall. 

New testing from Consumer Reports outlines some concerning finds after examining nearly 40 different brands of ground cinnamon from grocery stores. It was done after the FDA’s recall of both ground cinnamon and cinnamon-flavored applesauce products in recent years. Out of 36 different brands tested, 12 were found to have amounts of lead higher than one part per million, which would trigger a recall in New York, the only state that regulates heavy metals in spices. 

Most of the lead contamination was found in those sold in smaller brands and stores. The offending products include 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), and Deep Cinnamon Powder (1.02 ppm). 

CR‘s director and acting head of product safety testing Dr. James E. Rogers explained just how harmful even a dash of cinnamon from one of these brands can be, as a quarter teaspoon of any of them has more lead than you should consume in an entire day. 

“If you have one of those products, we think you should throw it away,” Rogers stated plainly. “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.”

Those aren’t the only brands that contained levels of lead; some larger brands had levels that that weren’t necessarily unsafe but also weren’t the safest. The company found the following levels in other brands: McCormick Ground Cinnamon (0.23 ppm), Simply Organic Cinnamon (0.28 ppm), Bassett San Francisco Ground Cinnamon (0.55 ppm), Good & Gather Ground Cinnamon (0.56 ppm), Trader Joe’s Organic Ground Cinnamon (0.69 ppm), Great Value Ground Cinnamon (0.79 ppm), and Kirkland Signature Organic Saigon Cinnamon (0.80 ppm) . 

Related: Massive Deli Meat Recall Linked to Listeria Outbreak Just Got Bigger

If you’re looking for the safest ground cinnamon products for your fall dishes this year, you can’t go wrong with 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon (0.02 ppm), Loisa Organic Cinnamon (0.04 ppm), Morton & Bassett San Francisco 100% Organic Ground Cinnamon (0.04 ppm), Sadaf Cinnamon Powder (0.04 ppm), 365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon (0.12 ppm), and Sadaf Seven Spice powder (0.15 ppm). 

@consumerreports

We found high lead levels in a third of the cinnamon powders and spice mixtures we tested. Learn more through the link in our bio. #foodtok #cinnamon #foodtiktok #foodsafety

♬ original sound – Consumer Reports

Top your coffee drinks and cinnamon buns with peace of mind this fall.