FDA Issues Public Health Alert for Cinnamon Product Containing Lead

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health alert advising consumers to throw away and not buy the El Servidor brand ground cinnamon product listed in the alert due to it containing elevated levels of lead.

“We appreciate the continued work of our state partners to help us monitor lead in ground cinnamon in the market,” said Jim Jones, Deputy Commissioner for Human Foods. “Reducing dietary exposure to lead and other heavy metals among babies and young children is one of the top priorities of the human foods program and something we will continue to work on through the Closer to Zero initiative.” 

The FDA has recommended that the distributor voluntarily recall the product, which has a lead level of 20 ppm, and will update its notice with communication from the firm if they voluntarily agree to recall. See the agency’s initial alert on ground cinnamon products issued March 6 for a list of additional ground cinnamon products previously recommended for recall.

While a lead level of 20 ppm is significantly lower than the levels of lead associated with the WanaBana cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products recalled in the fall of 2023, which were between 2,270 and 5,110 ppm lead in the cinnamon, the agency considers the El Servidor ground cinnamon product to be unsafe for consumption by all babies and young children. 

During the last year, the FDA asked states to prioritize testing of ground cinnamon and other spices, prior to the recall of WanaBana apple puree and applesauce products containing elevated levels of lead and chromium. Following the FDA’s targeted assessment of ground cinnamon products for lead and chromium and the FDA public health alert issued earlier this year, several states provided the FDA with sampling data for samples of ground cinnamon. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets collected the sample included in this public health alert. The FDA is continuing to review sample results received from state partners who have been continuously sampling ground cinnamon at retail for elevated levels of lead and will update this alert as necessary if the FDA finds that additional products contain elevated levels of lead and that exposure to these products may be unsafe.