Don’t use these six cinnamon products, FDA warns after concerning lead tests

Enlarge / Cinnamon (Photo by Hoberman Collection/Universal Images Group via Getty Images) (credit: Getty | Hoberman Collection)

Six different ground cinnamon products sold at retailers including Save A Lot, Dollar Tree, and Family Dollar contain elevated levels of lead and should be recalled and thrown away immediately, the US Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday.

The brands are La Fiesta, Marcum, MK, Swad, Supreme Tradition, and El Chilar, and the products are sold in plastic spice bottles or in bags at various retailers. The FDA has contacted the manufacturers to urge them to issue voluntary recalls, though it has not been able to reach one of the firms, MTCI, which distributes the MK-branded cinnamon.

Products identified by the FDA as containing elevated lead levels. (credit: FDA)

The announcement comes amid a nationwide outbreak of lead poisoning in young children linked to cinnamon applesauce pouches contaminated with lead and chromium. In that case, it's believed that a spice grinder in Ecuador intentionally added extreme levels of lead chromate to cinnamon imported from Sri Lanka, likely to improve its weight and/or appearance. Food manufacturer Austrofoods then added the heavily contaminated cinnamon, without any testing, to cinnamon applesauce pouches marketed to toddlers and young children across the US. In the latest update, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified 468 cases of lead poisoning that have been linked to the cinnamon applesauce pouches. The cases span 44 states and are mostly in very young children.