Lead in Spices and Cookware: What FDA Recalls and CDC Reports Have Found
The cinnamon in the WanaBana apple puree and applesauce products recalled in fall 2023 contained between 2,270 ppm and 5,110 ppm of lead. In this third alert, with an Original Public Health Alert date of July 30, 2024, the FDA recommended recalls of 11 brands of ground cinnamon products with elevated lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 7.68 ppm (fda.gov). That is hundreds of times lower than the WanaBana cinnamon, and the agency still recommended recalls. Since the pouch incident, the recalls for lead in imported spices have mostly been about small amounts rather than one dramatic contamination, and those cases are easy to miss. By the end, you’ll know how to check your kitchen against FDA and CDC lists and how to set up alerts for future recalls.
What FDA and CDC have flagged
FDA continues to monitor ground cinnamon for lead with state partners. The agency also says its import sampling “only evaluate[s] a subset” of what comes into the country. Here is the record from the sources, dated by each notice:
| Date | Event | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 2023 | WanaBana puree recall (fda.gov) | Cinnamon at 2,270–5,110 ppm (fda.gov) |
| Mar 6, 2024 (fda.gov) | Cinnamon alert (fda.gov) | Six distributors, 2.03–3.4 ppm (fda.gov) |
| Jul 25, 2024 | Additional cinnamon alert (fda.gov) | More products recommended for recall |
| Jul 30, 2024 (fda.gov) | Third cinnamon alert (fda.gov) | 11 brands, 2.03–7.68 ppm (fda.gov) |
| Dec 12, 2024 (fda.gov) | Cookware letter to retailers (fda.gov) | Certain alloys “should not be distributed” (fda.gov) |
| Aug 2025 (fda.gov) | Imported cookware warning (fda.gov) | Tested products listed; table updated |
| Sep 28, 2026 (fda.gov) | Lior Ground Cinnamon added (fda.gov) | One lot recalled by Galil Foods |
Step 1: Check your cinnamon against FDA’s tables
The July 30, 2024 alert was FDA’s third public health alert on ground cinnamon in 2024, with an Original Public Health Alert date of July 30, 2024. FDA has kept adding to it, most recently with one lot of Lior Gourmet Spices Ground Cinnamon from Galil Foods of Hauppauge, NY. The Maryland Department of Health collected the samples. The alert also links back to the March 6, 2024 alert and the July 25, 2024 alert for a list of additional ground cinnamon products previously recommended for recall.
If your jar matches, FDA’s advice is to stop using it and throw it away. Don’t eat it, sell it or serve it.
Common mistake: assuming an old jar is too old to matter. FDA notes these products have a long shelf life and tells consumers to check their homes. Compare the lot code on your jar, not just the brand name. Also, don’t wait for a company to act. FDA has said it has been unable to reach MTCI to share its findings and request a recall.
Step 2: Search the recall lists, including the archive
FDA’s Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts page keeps entries for three years before archiving them. The WanaBana recall is from fall 2023. To find older notices, use the FDA archive search with the product name, the company name and the year.
Common mistake: treating that page as the full list. FDA says not all recalls have press releases or are posted there. The Enforcement Report includes all recalls monitored by FDA, including ones marked “not yet classified.” Check both.
Step 3: Set up alerts
There are two subscription options. You can sign up for Recalls, Market Withdrawals and Safety Alerts by email. The Enforcement Report service also lets you get notifications based on keywords, such as a product, a brand name or the reason for the recall, sent daily or weekly. A starting keyword list for this topic:
lead
cinnamon
cookware
HindaliumCommon mistake: subscribing to every food recall. Most entries have nothing to do with lead. A recent stretch of the list included raw cheddar, sesame allergens and injectable drugs. Keyword filters keep the important alerts from getting buried.
Step 4: Check pots, pans and serving ware
FDA’s warning covers imported cookware made from aluminum, brass, and aluminum alloys known as Hindalium/Hindolium or Indalium/Indolium (fda.gov). In tests designed to mimic normal cooking and food storage, these products showed they could leach lead into food. FDA lists the tested products, but says affected products are not limited to this list.
If you own one, throw it away. Do not donate or refurbish it. Giving it away just moves the exposure to someone else.
Metalware used for serving matters too. A CDC report on a New York City family found lead in kansa and pital metalware. Investigators screened the items with a handheld XRF device. They were cauldrons and cups the family had bought in Nepal: everyday kitchen pieces with cultural meaning, easy to overlook.
Step 5: Treat certain traditional medicines and sindoor with caution
CDC lists specific products that contain lead. Greta and Azarcon, Hispanic remedies that are also given to teething babies, can be up to 90% lead. Samples of Daw Tway, a digestive aid from Thailand and Myanmar, contained up to 970 ppm. Ba-baw-san and Ghasard are on the list as well. People have also been exposed by ingesting sindoor, a ceremonial powder that some use as a food additive.
CDC also reports lead in spices imported from Vietnam, India, and Syria and in candy made with chili powder or tamarind.
Common mistake: trusting your eyes or the seller. CDC says lead cannot be detected by looking at or tasting a product, and that laboratory testing is the only way to know for sure.
Step 6: Talk to a healthcare provider, and think about the whole household
Most people exposed to lead have no obvious immediate symptoms, so feeling fine doesn’t rule it out. If you think your child was exposed, CDC says to contact their healthcare provider, who can decide whether a blood lead test is needed. The New York City report also points to testing other household members when one person has a high result, because a shared pot or spice jar exposes everyone who eats from it.
Why the ongoing checks matter
The WanaBana recall made headlines. The later alerts involved lead levels far lower than WanaBana’s. None of these sources describe a single list or label that catches everything. What works is checking lot codes, searching the archive, filtering your alerts by keyword, and replacing suspect cookware. Doing a pantry check now takes less time than tracking down the source of a high blood lead result later.
Sources
- fda.gov – “Lead in Food and Foodwares | FDA” (2025)
- cdc.gov – “Elevated Blood Lead Levels in a Pregnant Woman and her Family from Traditional Kansa (Bronze) and Pital (Brass) Metalware — New York City, 2024 | MMWR” (2025)
- fda.gov – “Enforcement Reports | FDA” (2025)
- fda.gov – “More Ground Cinnamon Products Added to FDA Public Health Alert Due to Presence of Elevated Levels of Lead | FDA” (2026)
- fda.gov – “Recalls, Market Withdrawals, & Safety Alerts | FDA” (2024)
- fda.gov – “FDA Alert Concerning Certain Cinnamon Products Due to Presence of Elevated Levels of Lead | FDA” (2025)
- fda.gov – “FDA Issues Warning About Imported Cookware That May Leach Lead: August 2025 | FDA” (2025)
- cdc.gov – “About Lead in Foods, Cosmetics, and Medicines | Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention | CDC” (2025)