The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the country issued an important warning about cinnamon. Over the past few months, the FDA has made several recalls and issued numerous warnings on certain products. However, it is important to remain vigilant and up to date about the products that are recalled and affected by the urgent warnings. In the recent warning, consumers are encouraged to stay away from using the product, and there is something specific they should do before using it.
The expansion of the FDA warning
The FDA expanded the health warning, which will affect more cinnamon products due to lead levels. When it comes to the HAETAE-brand and Roshni-brand ground cinnamon, they officially joined the growing list of recalled products.
In addition, federal health officials added more ground cinnamon brands to its health alert after they detected elevated levels of lead in the product. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated in its latest update last week that the HAETAE-brand and Roshni-brand ground cinnamon are also added to the growing list of products that are considered unsafe due to elevated lead levels.
The FDA is continuously updating its list of recalled cinnamon brands. Currently, there is a total of 16, since the original issue health alert in July 2025. In its latest update on October 10, the FDA stated that it continues to analyze cinnamon. It is also continuously busy with reviewing sample results from state partners that have been testing ground cinnamon at retail for elevated lead levels.
Products Containing Cinnamon
For the affected products that have been added to the list, the FDA has recommended that the companies voluntarily recall their respective affected products. An exception will be made for the HAETAE-brand cinnamon. The FDA also stated that it was unable to reach the distributor Haitai Inc. USA to share its findings and recommend that the company initiate a recall.
In addition, the FDA concluded that during its assessment that eating any of the products that are listed could contribute to elevated levels of lead in a person’s blood. It also made a warning about being exposed to elevated levels of lead could contribute to adverse health effects. It is especially dangerous for those individuals who may already have elevated blood lead levels from other exposures to lead.
The potential for adverse health effects from consuming food contaminated with lead varies depending on the level of lead in the food. It also depends on the length of the exposure, the amount and frequency of exposure. Therefore, exposures to different sources of lead and a person’s age can also be factors.
The consequences of consuming the product
It has been stated that those individuals who are younger “are particularly vulnerable to the potential harmful effects from lead exposure.” According to the FDA, the reason for this is because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth. Also, high levels of exposure to lead in utero, infancy and early childhood can especially lead to neurological effects. As stated by the federal health officials, examples of these types of effects are:
- Learning disabilities,
- Behavior difficulties and
- Lowered IQ.
In addition, last year, hundreds of lead poisoning cases were traced to recalled applesauce products. It, therefore, underscore the severity of the risks which are associated with contaminated food. According to federal health officials, a recall was issued by WanaBana LLC specifically for its WanaBana, Schnucks or Weis-brand apple cinnamon pouches. These are products that has been produced by Ecuador-based Austrofood. The recall has been issued due to elevated lead levels that occurred last fall, after four children in North Carolina had “elevated blood lead levels, indicating potential acute lead toxicity.”