For the third time this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health alert about ground cinnamon products that it found to contain elevated levels of lead. The present public health alert follows similar ones issued on March 6 and July 25.
The agency has recommended that all of the firms named in the public health alert recall their products, and will update the notice with communications from firms that voluntarily agree to recall their products.
FDA is continuously analyzing cinnamon and reviewing sample results it receives from state partners. The agency will continue to provide updates if it finds that additional products contain elevated levels of lead and that exposure to these products may be unsafe.
Based on FDA’s assessment, prolonged exposure to listed products may be unsafe and could contribute to elevated lead levels in the blood. No illnesses or adverse events have been reported to date in association with these products. FDA also warned that cinnamon is used in many foods young children consume, and, consistent with its Closer to Zero initiative, is recommending voluntary recalls of the listed products to reduce childhood lead exposure.
The brands named by FDA had elevated lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 7.01 parts per million (ppm), which were significantly lower than lead levels found in WanaBana cinnamon apple puree and apple sauce products recalled in the fall of 2023, which had between 2,270 ppm to 5,110 ppm.
Prior to the WanaBana recall, FDA asked states to prioritize the testing of cinnamon and other ground spices, and several states provided the agency with data through hteh Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM), a cooperative agreement with states to help investigate, monitor, and remove adulterated foods. The products in the public health alert included those sampled by California, Maryland, Missouri, Connecticut, and Virginia, through the LFFM, as well as from New York outside of the LFFM.
FDA will continue to work with states to test cinnamon sold directly to consumers at retail, and to test cinnamon at import, and will issue import alerts where appropriate.
FDA sent a letter in March 2024 to cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the U.S. reminding them of the requirement to control for contamination from potential chemical hazards in food, including cinnamon.
FDA, as part of its FY2025 Legislative Proposal, is also seeking to amend the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to expressly require industry to conduct testing of final products, including those marketed for consumption by children and young infants, for contaminants and to maintain such records of testing results for FDA inspection.
