Consumer Reports found lead in a variety of products, at a time when federal regulators are seeking authority from Congress to combat the problem of heavy metals in foods.
One dozen of 36 cinnamon products tested by a consumer group contained elevated levels of lead, according to a study released on Thursday that reinforced concerns about metals in foods after tainted cinnamon applesauce poisoned dozens of children last year.
The study, by Consumer Reports, documented levels that were far lower than the amounts discovered last year.
The Consumer Reports team tested the spice and found high levels in lead in 12 items sold at discount stores and ethnic markets, with lead levels reaching 3.5 parts per million. New York, the only state with tough lead standards in spices, recalls spices — among them curry powder, chili powder, cumin and five-spice powder — with more than one part per million of lead. Consumer Reports advised that people throw out items with that amount.
Badia, one common brand, sold cinnamon with one part per million of lead, according to the report. The company did not respond to a request for comment.
While the levels in the cinnamon applesauce recalled last year were “astronomical,” those in the new report were still 1,000 times as high as the levels that concern lead-exposure experts who focus on children’s health, said Tomás R. Guilarte, a neuroscience and environmental health professor at Florida International University.
“These are extremely high levels of lead,” he said. “Clearly they shouldn’t be used.”
Earlier this year, the Food and Drug Administration urged a series of recalls of cinnamon products. The discoveries provided the impetus for consumer advocacy groups to generate greater public awareness of the dangers of lead and other metals, and for the agency to push Congress for tough limits on those heavy metals in food.