Lead in Ground Cinnamon Recall 2026: Brands to Toss & Buy
Cinnamon is one of the few spices many of us use every single day, in oatmeal, smoothies, baby food, and baking. That's exactly why the FDA's ongoing ground cinnamon lead alert matters more than its small print suggests. The list now covers 21 products, and the newest addition, Lior Cinnamon Ground Seasoning, was pulled from shelves in six states in September 2026 after a Maryland lab found elevated lead. If you're pregnant or feeding a toddler, here's which jars to check, why the exposure adds up, and how to pick a replacement you don't have to worry about.
TL;DR:
- The FDA's alert lists 21 ground cinnamon products with 2.0 to 10.7 parts per million of lead. Check the brand table below against your pantry and toss any match.
- Lead crosses the placenta and there is no known safe blood lead level for a developing baby or young child. A daily spice is a daily dose.
- Replace it with a brand that publishes heavy-metal test results. "Organic" alone does not address lead.
Key Takeaways
- Lior is the September 2026 recall. Galil Importing Corp recalled Lior Cinnamon Ground Seasoning (90-gram containers, UPC 794711005484, lot GAP11304) sold in Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Illinois from November 2025 through September 7, 2026.
- The alert is cumulative, not new. The FDA began flagging ground cinnamon brands in 2024 after the lead-tainted applesauce pouch investigation and has updated the list nine times, most recently September 28, 2026.
- These levels are far below the applesauce disaster, but not trivial. The flagged jars run 2 to 10.7 ppm; the 2023 WanaBana cinnamon measured 2,270 to 5,110 ppm. Chronic low-level exposure in pregnancy and early childhood is still worth eliminating.
Which Ground Cinnamon Brands Has the FDA Flagged for Lead?
As of the September 28, 2026 update, the FDA's public health alert lists 21 ground cinnamon products with elevated lead. The agency's instruction is simple: do not eat, sell, or serve them, and throw them away.
The FDA's alert page lists each product with its measured lead level and the retailer where it was sampled:
| Brand | Lead (ppm) | Where sampled |
|---|---|---|
| Lior (Galil Importing) | 2.18 | Recalled Sept 2026; sold in TX, NY, NJ, PA, FL, IL |
| BaiLiFeng | 10.7 | Retail locations pending |
| Super Brand | 6.60 to 7.68 | Asian Supermarket, Little Rock, AR |
| El Chilar | 3.75 to 7.01 | El Torito Market |
| HAETAE (HT) | 4.60 | Various supermarkets nationwide |
| Lucky Foods | 3.00 to 4.17 | Multiple retailers, New York |
| ALB Flavor | 3.93 | Eurogrocery |
| Venzu Traders | 3.00 | Retail locations pending |
| DEVI | 2.92 | Apna Bazar, WA |
| SWAD | 2.89 | Patel Brothers |
| La Frontera | 2.66 | Frutas Y Abarrotes Mexico |
| Wise Wife | 2.49 | Retailers in NJ, NY, FL, MD, MN, OK, OH |
| Durra | 2.44 | Grocery stores, CA and MI |
| Supreme Tradition | 2.37 | Dollar Tree |
| Asli | 2.32 | A&Y Global Market, Columbia, MO |
| Jiva Organics | 2.29 | Taj Supermarket |
| Roshni | 2.268 | Retail locations pending |
| Compania Indillor Orientale | 2.23 | Eurogrocery |
| Marcum | 2.14 to 2.22 | Save-A-Lot |
| Spice Class | 2.04 | Fish World |
| Shahzada | 2.03 | Premium Supermarket |
Most of these are budget or import brands sold at ethnic grocers and dollar stores, which is where state labs have focused sampling. That doesn't mean mainstream brands are tested and clean; it means they haven't been in the sampling net.
What this means for your family: If a jar in your pantry matches any brand above, stop using it today. Lead has no taste, smell, or color, so the jar will seem perfectly fine.
SCRUNCHY MOM TIP: The brand name on the front isn't always enough. Check the UPC and lot code against the FDA table, since some brands have multiple products and only specific lots were flagged.
Why Does Lead Keep Showing Up in Cinnamon?
Lead gets into ground cinnamon three ways: it's taken up from contaminated soil where the bark is grown, it's introduced during grinding and processing, or it's added deliberately through lead-containing colorants that make the powder look richer. Ground product is more vulnerable than sticks because it's easier to adulterate and harder to inspect.
The 2023 applesauce case was the extreme version. The FDA's investigation traced lead and chromium in WanaBana, Schnucks, and Weis cinnamon apple puree pouches to cinnamon processed in Ecuador, with lead levels in the thousands of parts per million, and concluded the contamination was likely intentional adulteration. Hundreds of children had elevated blood lead levels linked to those pouches.
The brands on the current alert are a different, lower tier of problem: a few parts per million, consistent with contaminated soil or sloppy processing rather than deliberate spiking. But the FDA's Closer to Zero program exists because small, repeated exposures from everyday foods are what add up in a child's body over time.
What this means for your family: A spice you use daily deserves more scrutiny than one you use at Thanksgiving. Cinnamon is a daily spice in most households with kids.
How Dangerous Is Lead in Pregnancy and Early Childhood?
There is no known safe level of lead exposure for a fetus or young child. Lead crosses the placenta, and prenatal exposure is associated with miscarriage, preterm birth, low birth weight, and lasting effects on brain development. Young children absorb a larger share of ingested lead than adults do.
The CDC notes that lead stored in a mother's bones from past exposure can be released during pregnancy and reach the baby, which is one reason reducing new exposure matters even if a given jar seems like a small source. The FDA's lead-in-food guidance makes the same point from the food side: lead accumulates, it has no nutritional role, and the goal is to keep dietary exposure as low as achievable.
For context on dose, a quarter-teaspoon of cinnamon at 2.5 ppm lead delivers roughly 1.5 micrograms of lead. The FDA's interim reference level for lead intake in children is 2.2 micrograms per day from all food sources combined. One daily serving of a flagged brand can use most of that budget by itself.
What this means for your family: You don't need to panic about past exposure, but you should treat replacing a flagged jar as a same-day task, and mention it to your pediatrician or OB if your child or you ate it regularly. A blood lead test is simple and inexpensive.
Is Ceylon Cinnamon Safer Than Cassia?
Ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum) isn't inherently lead-free, but it's a reasonable default for daily use for a different reason: it contains far less coumarin, a natural compound in cassia cinnamon that can stress the liver at high daily doses. For lead specifically, what matters is testing, not variety.
Almost all cinnamon labeled simply "cinnamon" in U.S. grocery stores is cassia. Ceylon costs more and is usually sold by brands that trade on traceability, which in practice means it's more often third-party tested. That correlation is useful, but don't confuse it with a guarantee. A Ceylon brand that doesn't publish test results is still an unknown.
What this means for your family: If you use cinnamon daily and especially if a toddler does, Ceylon plus published testing is the combination to look for. Variety alone doesn't solve the lead question.
What Should You Look for When You Replace It?
Four things, in order of importance: published batch-level heavy-metal testing, a brand that names its sourcing region, whole sticks you grind yourself when practical, and USDA Organic as a tiebreaker rather than a safety claim.
- Published heavy-metal testing. This is the only label signal that actually speaks to lead. Look for a certificate of analysis on the brand's website or a statement that every lot is tested for lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury.
- Named sourcing. Single-origin brands can trace a problem lot; multi-origin blends can't.
- Whole sticks. Harder to adulterate, and you'll see any filler. A $10 spice grinder pays for itself.
- Organic as a tiebreaker. USDA Organic rules cover pesticides and synthetic inputs, not heavy metals. An organic brand can still have lead in it; Jiva Organics is on the FDA list.
Brands worth considering
- Frontier Co-op Organic Ceylon Cinnamon — widely available co-op brand with published quality testing and a Ceylon option.
- Simply Organic Ceylon Cinnamon — USDA Organic Ceylon, sold at most grocery stores and on Thrive Market.
- Burlap & Barrel — single-origin spice company that names the farm and publishes sourcing details for each lot.
- Starwest Botanicals — bulk organic Ceylon with third-party testing, the economical choice if you go through a lot.
SCRUNCHY MOM TIP: Store ground cinnamon in a glass jar away from the stove and write the purchase date on the lid. Ground spices fade in six to twelve months, and a faded jar tempts you to use twice as much, which doubles whatever's in it.
Cinnamon Safety at a Glance
| Factor | Higher risk | Lower risk |
|---|---|---|
| Testing | No published results | Batch-level heavy-metal certificate of analysis |
| Sourcing | Multi-origin blend, importer brand | Single-origin, named region |
| Format | Pre-ground, bulk or dollar-store | Whole sticks, or ground by a tested brand |
| Variety | Generic "cinnamon" (cassia) for daily use | Ceylon for daily use, cassia occasionally |
| Price signal | Large container under $2 | Mid-range with transparent sourcing |
Good Brands to Buy
- Frontier Co-op Organic Ceylon Cinnamon — co-op brand with published quality testing; easy to find
- Simply Organic Ceylon Cinnamon — USDA Organic Ceylon at mainstream grocers and Thrive Market
- Burlap & Barrel Cinnamon — single-origin, farm-named sourcing
- Starwest Botanicals Organic Ceylon Cinnamon — bulk, third-party tested
FAQ
Q: Is cinnamon safe to eat during pregnancy?
Yes. Cinnamon in normal food amounts is fine during pregnancy, and nothing in the FDA alert changes that. The concern is lead contamination in specific ground cinnamon products, not cinnamon itself. Check your jar against the FDA's brand table, discard any match, and replace it with a brand that publishes heavy-metal testing. If you've been using a flagged brand daily, mention it to your OB or midwife; a blood lead test is quick and will tell you whether there's anything to follow up on.
Q: How do I know if my cinnamon has lead in it?
You can't tell by looking, smelling, or tasting. The only practical ways to know are to match your brand, UPC, and lot code against the FDA's alert table, or to buy from a brand that publishes a certificate of analysis for each lot. If your brand isn't on the list and doesn't publish testing, it's an unknown, which for a daily spice in a household with a pregnancy or toddler is a reason to switch.
Q: Does organic cinnamon guarantee no lead?
No. USDA Organic certification regulates pesticides, fertilizers, and synthetic additives. It does not require heavy-metal testing of the finished spice, and lead in cinnamon comes from soil and processing, not from pesticides. Jiva Organics appears on the FDA's alert list. Organic plus published heavy-metal testing is the combination to look for; organic alone is not a safety claim for lead.
Q: My toddler eats cinnamon oatmeal every morning. Should I get a blood lead test?
If the cinnamon was one of the flagged brands, yes, ask your pediatrician. A blood lead test is a simple finger stick or draw, it's inexpensive, and children under six are already recommended for screening at ages one and two. If the brand wasn't flagged and you're simply worried, the test is still reasonable and your pediatrician won't think it's an overreaction. In the meantime, switch to a tested brand; there's no reason to drop cinnamon from the oatmeal.
Q: Why are so many of the flagged brands from ethnic grocers and dollar stores?
Two reasons. State health labs have concentrated sampling on imported spices sold through smaller retailers, because that's where past contamination has clustered. And low-cost, multi-origin ground spice is the easiest category to adulterate or source from contaminated soil. It would be a mistake to read the list as proof that national brands are clean; it's better read as proof of where testing has happened. The brands worth trusting are the ones that test themselves and publish it, regardless of where they're sold.
About the Author
Jenn Smith, RN BSN, is a registered nurse, mom, and co-founder of Scrunchy Living. She writes evidence-based guides to non-toxic living, pregnancy-safe products, and clean home practices for modern families.
Shop These Recommendations
| Product | Why It's Worth It | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier Co-op | Co-op spice brand with published quality testing; carries an organic Ceylon cinnamon. | |
| Thrive Market | Online organic grocer that stocks Simply Organic Ceylon cinnamon and other tested spice brands. |
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Medical Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider or OB-GYN with questions about dietary choices during pregnancy or concerns about your child's health. If you believe you or your child has been exposed to lead, contact your healthcare provider for blood lead level testing.