DPHHS Urges Consumers To Discard & Not Purchase Recalled Cinnamon Products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers to throw away and not purchase specific ground cinnamon products because samples of these products were found to contain levels of lead that may be unsafe.

One of these products, Supreme Tradition ground cinnamon, has been distributed at Family Dollar and Dollar Tree stores in Montana. These stores currently operate in the following counties: Beaverhead, Big Horn, Broadwater, Carbon, Custer, Dawson, Deer Lodge, Fallon, Fergus, Flathead, Gallatin, Glacier, Great Falls, Hill, Jefferson, Lake, Lewis & Clark, Lincoln, Madison, McCone, Musselshell, Missoula, Ravalli, Richland, Roosevelt, Sanders, Silver Bow, Stillwater, Sweet Grass, Teton, Toole, and Yellowstone.

The FDA initiated a targeted survey of ground cinnamon products from discount retail stores and analyzed the samples for lead and chromium following the October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products due to elevated lead levels linked to the cinnamon in those products and the concern for lead toxicity in children. Based on FDA’s assessment, consuming these products could contribute to harmful levels of lead in the blood.

Montana state health officials said exposure to lead in the diet could contribute to adverse health effects, particularly for the portion of the population that may already have exposure to lead from other sources. Most people have no obvious immediate symptoms of lead exposure.

Children are more vulnerable to the health effects of heavy metal exposure than adults because they are still developing, making it especially important to avoid exposure.

“If you are concerned that you or anyone in your family may have been exposed to lead, the FDA recommends you contact your healthcare provider who may recommend testing your blood for lead,” said Dr. Maggie Cook-Shimanek, Public Health Physician for the Department of Public Health and Human Services.

There is no safe level of lead exposure, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) uses a marker of 3.5 micrograms per deciliter to identify children with blood lead levels higher than most. For more information, see the March 6, 2024 FDA Alert Concerning Certain Cinnamon Products Due to Presence of Elevated Levels of Lead.