The FDA has updated its public alert about cinnamon with an additional product, Venzu Traders cinnamon (dalchini) powder, that contains elevated levels of lead.
The Food and Drug Administration collected samples of the product at a retail establishment and tested it for lead levels. The Venzu Traders cinnamon is the 19th cinnamon product to be included in the FDA’s public alert. For a complete list of cinnamon products subject to the public alert, click here.
The agency began the alert on March 6, 2024, after testing of several products showed elevated levels of lead in imported cinnamon. The testing program was part of the FDA’s followup to an outbreak of excessive lead levels in young children who had eaten WanaBana cinnamon applesauce products in the fall of 2023. More than 400 children were confirmed with adverse effects.
Following the FDA’s targeted assessment of ground cinnamon products for lead and chromium several states provided the agency with data for samples of ground cinnamon collected through the Laboratory Flexible Funding Model (LFFM). This is a cooperative agreement with states to help investigate, monitor and remove adulterated foods from commerce and aid regulatory programs.
Arkansas, California, Maryland, Missouri, Connecticut, and Virginia collected ground cinnamon samples through the LFFM, in addition to samples collected outside the LFFM from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
The FDA continues to work with states to test cinnamon sold directly to consumers at retail and to test cinnamon at import. The agency will continue its activities at import to prevent unsafe cinnamon from reaching consumers in the United States, including adding firms and products to the cinnamon import alert where appropriate.
For ingredient suppliers and final products that contain cinnamon, the FDA advises both domestic and foreign food suppliers to voluntarily test their products to ensure safety.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the manufacturers and the importers to ensure the safety of the products that enter into the U.S. market. In March 2024, the FDA sent a letter to cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors and facility operators in the United States reminding them of the requirement to implement controls to prevent contamination from potential chemical hazards in food, including in ground cinnamon products. The FDA will continue to work with firms to ensure they are meeting their responsibilities under provisions of the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food rule.
The FDA is also continuing its Toxic Elements monitoring program, which includes testing of a variety of foods, including colored spices offered for sale in the U.S. In addition to sampling, as part of the FY2025 Legislative proposal, the FDA is seeking to amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) to expressly require industry to conduct testing of final products, including those marketed for consumption by infants and young children, for contaminants and maintain such records of these testing results for FDA inspection.
About lead contamination
Lead is a toxic substance present in our environment in small amounts and everyone is exposed to some lead from daily actions such as inhaling dust, eating food, or drinking water.
Exposure to larger amounts of lead can cause lead poisoning. While lead can affect nearly every bodily system, its effects depend upon the amount of and duration of lead exposure and age of the person exposed.
Symptoms can include abdominal pain, vomiting, lethargy, irritability, weakness, behavior or mood changes, delirium, seizures, and coma. However, infants, young children and the developing fetus can be affected by chronic exposure to amounts of lead that may not result in obvious symptoms of lead poisoning.
A child with lead poisoning may not look or act sick. Lead poisoning in children can cause: learning disabilities, developmental delays, and lower IQ scores.
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