As soon as there is a chill in the air and the temperature begins to fall, we start reaching out for everything cinnamon. This popular spice is a quintessential ingredient in your favorite fall recipes, including cinnamon rolls. However, various reports have raised concerns about the lead levels in cinnamon. As per a recent Consumer Reports study, 12 out of 36 tested ground cinnamon products contained high lead levels. Hence, the main question arises – “is cinnamon safe for consumption?” 

This blog will talk in-depth about the lead levels in cinnamon and what the recent data and studies suggest. 

How Does Lead Occur in Cinnamon?

Lead in cinnamon and other spices can occur through unintentional contamination and adulteration.

• Lead contamination of natural flavors such as cinnamon can happen at different phases of plant growth, at the time it is being harvested, and even at the time of extraction from the plant. Since lead is a naturally occurring heavy metal, it can infiltrate soil and water sources, thus contaminating crops.
• Lead in cinnamon can also occur from other sources, such as leaded gasoline, mining regions, and construction sites.
• The equipment used in the grinding process might also contain lead, which can contaminate the final cinnamon product. This unintentional contamination often leads to trace amounts of lead in this brown spice.
• The more concerning issue is adulteration, in which lead is deliberately added to cinnamon. People may intentionally add compounds that look a lot like the spice, resulting in very high lead levels in the contaminated cinnamon.

What Did the FDA and Consumer Reports Find in Their Studies? 

The FDA issued public alerts for cinnamon brands that had unacceptably high lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm). Then came the study by Consumer reports undertaken on 36 cinnamon products and spice blends that contained cinnamon. They set the alarm for 12 products because they had lead levels verging one ppm and above, a recall point according to New York legislation (the only state controlling heavy metals in spices).

The FDA doesn’t appear to have a specific ppm cut-off, but all of the recent warnings from the agency were of products containing more than two ppm of lead, not one. Regarding the evaluation of the Consumer Reports spices study, two spice brands claimed that they are willing and would want to initiate a voluntary recall of the affected products. 

Finding Your Cinnamon Lead Limits 

Concentration thresholds for regulatory recalls are one thing, but what is far more relevant to consumers is the maximum safe amount of lead in cinnamon. If you ask health experts or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, no lead level is known to be safe, but trace levels of lead are unavoidable. 

The maximum amount Consumer Reports uses here is a very conservative threshold set by California, another state outlier. The FDA regulates spices, including cinnamon, but there are no federal limits on lead or other heavy metals. It takes a different approach with its lead limit, called the Interim Reference Level (IRL). The FDA’s IRL for a child is 2.2 micrograms of lead per day, whereas for a person who is pregnant is 8.8 micrograms per day.

Should You Eliminate Cinnamon From Your Diet? 

Nutritionists say that there is no necessity to exclude cinnamon from your diet altogether. If you are concerned with ground cinnamon, then it may be wise to take stock of what you have at your disposal in the kitchen. The FDA also suggests staying away from brands it has determined contain higher lead levels. Whole cinnamon may also be safer than ground cinnamon due to having less exposure to lead-containing grinding tools. 

Brands that are known to conduct a proper heavy metal testing process are the best choice. At Red Ape Cinnamon, we set our lead tolerance level for Cassia Cinnamon at .1 ppm and Ceylon Cinnamon at 1 ppm. We test every batch of our cinnamon products to ensure customer’s health and well-being. Read our dedicated blog on heavy metal testing to learn more about our extensive testing process.