- The FDA is warning consumers to stop using certain cinnamon products sold by retailers, including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, and Save A Lot, due to elevated levels of lead.
- The FDA’s safety alert follows the October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products, which have been linked to 468 cases of lead and chromium poisoning across the U.S.
- No adverse effects or illnesses have been reported with this new safety alert, but anyone who suspects they've been exposed to lead should contact a healthcare provider.
Consumers should stop using certain cinnamon products sold by retailers, including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, and Save A Lot, due to elevated levels of lead, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday in a safety alert.
The warning comes following the October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products found to contain lead, which have since been linked to 468 cases of lead and chromium poisoning in 44 states.
That 2023 recall led the FDA to initiate further testing of ground cinnamon products found in discount retail stores to see if they also contained lead and chromium. Results showed that ground cinnamon products from six different distributors had elevated lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm).
The tainted products are shown and listed below:
FDA
La Fiesta ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: La Fiesta Food Products
- Sold by: La Superior, SuperMercados
- Lots/codes: 25033
Marcum ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: Moran Foods, LLC
- Sold by: Save A Lot
- Best by/lots/codes: 10/16/25 10DB, 04/06/25 0400B1
MK ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: MTCI
- Sold by: SF Supermarket
Swad ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: Raja Foods, LLC
- Sold by: Patel Brothers
- Lots/codes: KX21223
Supreme Tradition ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: Greenbriar International, Inc.
- Sold by: Dollar Tree, Family Dollar
- Best by/lots/codes: 09/29/25 09E8, 04/17/25 04E11, 12/19/25 12C2, 04/12/25 04ECB12, 08/24/25 08A__, 04/21/25 04E5, 2025-09-22 09E20 (Missouri)
El Chilar ground cinnamon
- Distributed by: El Chilar
- Sold by: La Joya Morelense (Baltimore, MD)
- Lots/codes: F275EX1026, D300EX1024
On top of the FDA’s warning to consumers, the agency recommended the voluntary recall of those ground cinnamon products and sent a letter to all cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the U.S. to remind them that they are required to prevent these types of contamination in food products.
How Does Lead End Up in Cinnamon?
The FDA said the levels of lead in the ground cinnamon products are “significantly lower” than those found in the ground cinnamon implicated in the apple puree and applesauce recall—which were between 2,270 ppm and 5,110 ppm—but any amount of lead in products is unsafe, especially for children who absorb lead more easily.
Lead can get into food products at any stage of the supply chain, including the growth, harvesting, or processing phases. Previously, lead has been widely used in paint, gasoline, and other products and can make its way into the environment when those products are used or disposed of.
When Is Lead in Food a Health Concern?
There’s no known safe level of lead, but it’s largely unavoidable in the environment and in our food supply. In that case, the FDA has come up with an interim reference level (IRL) to determine if the amount of exposure in food could be a health concern. Lead’s IRL is calculated based on the CDC’s blood reference level (3.5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood).
“Cinnamon can be naturally contaminated from the environment,” Francisco Diez-Gonzalez, PhD, director of the University of Georgia Center for Food Safety told Health. Even things like a spice grinder that contains lead can be an issue, he added.
In some cases, lead may also be intentionally added to certain products, like spices, as a way to increase product weight or add color. This is more likely to happen with spices purchased abroad—those that come from Georgia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, and Morocco may contain high levels of lead.
“Lead is something that has been used in a few different spice products as a way to stretch more out of what someone has when it comes to ground spices,” Benjamin Chapman, PhD, a professor and food safety specialist at North Carolina State University, told Health.
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What to Do If You Have Lead-Tainted Cinnamon
The FDA advised consumers to stop using, throw away, and not buy the ground cinnamon products that have elevated levels of lead. Because cinnamon often has a long shelf life, the agency is also recommending people check their pantries to see if they have any of the impacted products at home.
Because you won’t immediately know if you’ve ingested a lead-tainted product—”[you] can’t smell or taste lead in cinnamon,” said Diez-Gonzalez—you should also talk to your healthcare provider if you believe you’ve been exposed to elevated levels of lead, the FDA said.
Though no illnesses have been reported in association with these cinnamon products yet, long-term exposure to lead can lead to adverse health effects, especially in children. These include learning disabilities, behavior difficulties such as hyperactivity, and lowered IQ.
Keep in mind, too: This recall doesn’t affect all cinnamon—just the products specifically called out by the FDA. “[We’re] not sounding the alarm on [all] cinnamon,” Chapman said. “But pay attention to what the FDA is doing and see if you have any of these brands at home. If you don’t know, maybe it’s time to re-up your cinnamon.”
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