The Absolute Best Cinnamon To Buy At The Grocery Store To Avoid Lead

In 2023, Consumer Reports found traces of lead in dark chocolate from such popular brands as Trader Joe's, Lindt, Hershey's, Dove, and more. Now, the nonprofit product testing organization has just released new troubling findings that affect another grocery staple: There might be lead in your cinnamon. But, some brands are better options than others for steering clear of contaminants.

According to the findings published by Consumer Reports on Thursday, the safest grocery store cinnamon brand for avoiding lead is Whole Foods Market, specifically 365 Whole Foods Market Ground Cinnamon and 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Ground Cinnamon, which exhibited nearly zero traces of lead contamination (0.12 and 0.02 parts per million respectively). Scientists determined this by testing 36 different ground cinnamon spice brands (including blends that include cinnamon like garam masala) purchased from 17 grocery stores across Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and online.

If you don't happen to live near a Whole Foods Market, there's no need to swear off ground cinnamon or switch to cinnamon sticks forever. Per the report, the cinnamon brands that demonstrated the next-lowest levels of lead were Loisa Organic Cinnamon, Morton & Bassett San Francisco Organic Ground Cinnamon, Sadaf Cinnamon Powder, and Sadaf Seven Spice blend. These findings are especially timely with fall on the way and seasonal foodies turning to cinnamon as a staple autumnal flavor. The test was prompted by a mass outbreak of lead poisoning last fall discovered to be tied to cinnamon applesauce pouches. It impacted more than 500 children.

To be safe, consumers should steer clear of the 12 cinnamon brands with the highest level of lead, led by Paras, which exhibited 3.52 parts per million (ppm). This main offender was followed by ground cinnamon from EGN (2.91 ppm), Mimi's Products ground cinnamon, ShopRite Bowl & Basket ground cinnamon, Rani Brand ground cinnamon, Zara Foods cinnamon powder, Three Rivers cinnamon stick powder, Yu Yee Brand five spice powder, BaiLiFeng five spice powder, Spicy King five spices powder, Badia cinnamon powder, and Deep cinnamon powder. For reference, in the state of New York, levels of lead above 1 ppm are "grounds" (pun intended) for a recall.

Following the published findings, Paras and EGN have notified Consumer Reports that they are pulling their cinnamon from store shelves. The next-highest offenders responded to CNN's request for comment, and essentially denied that there was anything wrong with their products at all. ShopRite Bowl & Basket told the outlet "our cinnamon meets all safety and quality standards." Badia Spices said, "Trace amounts of lead is found in nearly every food product grown around the world." It was also noted that the FDA hasn't imposed an official limit for heavy metals in spices. Although, the FDA released a comprehensive list of cinnamon brands that were considered unsafe due to lead content earlier this year on July 30. Now, that list has been expanded upon, and the implications are unsettling, to say the least.