The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said cinnamon sold by stores including the Dollar Tree and Family Dollar contains lead at levels that could be unsafe for people, particularly children, with prolonged exposure to the spice. The agency urged suppliers to recall the products voluntarily.
Cinnamon products included in the agency’s safety alert include the La Fiesta brand sold by La Superior and SuperMercados; Marcum brand sold by Save A Lot stores; MK brands sold by SF Supermarket; Swad brand sold by Patel Brothers; El Chilar brand sold by La Joya Morelense; and Supreme Tradition brand sold by Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores.
Just a plug for buying stick cinnamon. Look for ceylon cinnamon - not as spicy as the cassia variety that most ground cinnamons Are Made From. It smoother and more subtle. You can grind it in batches so it’s ready to go and will smell and taste so much better than this lead tainted pre ground crap.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the irrigation or the soil is the source of the lead, not the processing methods.
Edit: someone else posted that it was traced to be lead chromate. That’s a color that you could paint whole sticks with to make it seem fresher but makes more sense to mix with granulated. Same color often adulterated tumeric
Pretty sure most reports were additives to the ground powder. I have not heard a single case of tainted sticks.
So wait, I can just take cinnamon sticks and put them in a food processor? I love fresh ground coffee, so if it’s actually just that easy I’ll have to give it a try