These discount store ground cinnamon brands contain elevated levels of lead. Photo: U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
The FDA announced on March 6, 2024, that it is issuing an alert for certain discount store ground cinnamon brands that it has determined contain elevated levels of lead. The FDA has stated that prolonged exposure to these products might not be safe.
The FDA recommends that people throw away or not purchase these products, and they have recommended that firms voluntarily recall these products. One manufacturer, MTCI, the distributor of MK cinnamon, has not responded to the FDA’s correspondence.
The alert encompasses six cinnamon brands sold at discount stores that contain between 2.03 and 3.4 parts per million of lead, according the the FDA.
The affected ground cinnamon products include:
- La Fiesta brand, lot number 25033, sold at La Superior Supermercados
- Marcum brand, best by dates Oct. 16, 2025 and April 6, 2025, sold at Save A Lot
- MK brand, no lot number provided
- Swad brand, lot number KX21223, sold at Patel Brothers
- Supreme Tradition brand, best by dates include Sep. 29, 2025; April 17, 2025; Dec. 19, 2025; April 12, 2025; Aug. 24, 2025; April 21, 2025; and Sep. 22, 2025, sold at Dollar Tree and Family Dollar
- El Chilar brand, lot numbers F275EX1026 and D300EX1024, sold at La Joya Morelense in Baltimore
An October 2023 applesauce pouch recall due to elevated lead levels in the cinnamon used in those products prompted the FDA to begin a targeted survey of ground cinnamon products from discount retailers. The March 2024 alert for six ground cinnamon products is based on that survey’s results.
The FDA stated, “It is important to note that the lead levels found in the ground cinnamon products listed above are significantly lower than lead levels in cinnamon in the recalled apple sauce pouches removed from the market this past fall.”
Long-term exposure to high levels of lead can slow development in children as well as cause brain and nervous system damage, behavioral problems, learning difficulties, and hearing and speech issues. Adults can also experience these negative effects when exposed to even higher levels of lead.
You can read the full FDA alert here.
