FDA expands lead in ground cinnamon alert with new brands

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in early October expanded a public health alert and related recalls after tests found elevated levels of lead in multiple brands of ground cinnamon sold in the United States. The agency added HAETAE, Roshni, Durra and Wise Wife to a list of 16 cinnamon brands that have tested above safety benchmarks, and it is urging consumers to stop using and to discard any of the affected products.

The FDA said testing of retail samples found measurable concentrations of lead in several products. Two recently added items share a UPC code 6251136034139 and a best‑by date of Feb. 9. Testing reported a lead concentration of 2.268 parts per million in the Roshni sample and 4.6 parts per million in the HAETAE sample. Other tested samples showed even higher concentrations in some cases, with Super Brand and El Chilar among the brands with the highest reported results. The agency warned that "exposure to these products may be unsafe" and has recommended that firms voluntarily recall impacted lots.

Some of the newly recalled products have distribution and packaging details that may help consumers identify them. The Durra product identified in the alert was...