There Is No FDA Limit for Lead in Cinnamon. Here Is What to Check Instead

The short answer

There is no federal limit for lead in cinnamon. Not for cassia, not for Ceylon, and not for any other spice.

Consumer Reports put it plainly in September 2024: "There are currently no federal limits for lead in cinnamon or other spices." When it asked the FDA what level of lead would trigger an alert or a recall, the agency said it acts on a "case by case basis." The FDA says the same thing on its own site: it "does not need action levels or guidance to take action when the level of a contaminant, such as lead, is unsafe."

We used to write on this site that the FDA had a 2.1 ppm "action level" for cinnamon. That was wrong, and we have corrected it everywhere it appeared. The real situation is the reason this article exists: if no federal number says how much lead is too much in a spice, the only protection is a brand that knows where its spices come from and tests them.

Zero sugar · Six organic spices · Café-tested · 58¢ per 8 oz cup · Free shipping on every order · Supplier batch-tested for heavy metals · Small batch

What the FDA does have

The FDA has tools for lead in food. They just don't include a number for spices.

• Alerts and recalls, case by case. On March 6, 2024, the FDA warned consumers not to buy or eat certain ground cinnamon products sold at discount retailers, which tested at 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm) of lead. It acted without a published limit.
• The applesauce investigation. The cinnamon behind the 2023 recall of children's apple purée and applesauce pouches tested at 2,270 to 5,110 ppm, according to the FDA. That is the extreme case; the retail cinnamon in 2024 was far lower and still pulled.
• Interim reference levels. The FDA's benchmark for how much lead from food is a potential concern is 2.2 micrograms a day for children and 8.8 micrograms a day for women of childbearing age.
• Action levels for some foods, not spices. In January 2025 the FDA issued action levels for lead in processed food intended for babies and young children, and it has draft guidance for juice. Neither covers spices.

What a part per million means in your cup

A part per million sounds abstract. For lead in a spice it is simple: 1 ppm is 1 microgram of lead in every gram of spice.

A cup of chai uses well under a gram of cinnamon; a serving of Meria Chai is 1.5 g of black tea and six spices together. But cinnamon is rarely the only place a person meets lead in a day, and it also turns up in oatmeal, baking, coffee drinks and spice blends. That is why the level in the spice matters more than any single cup.

What independent testing found

In September 2024, Consumer Reports tested 36 ground cinnamon products and spice blends containing cinnamon, bought in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and online. Twelve measured above 1 ppm, the level that triggers a recall in New York, which Consumer Reports calls "the only state in the U.S. that regulates heavy metals in spices." Consumer Reports also noted that it tested about three samples per product, so one result can't speak for every lot a brand sells.

The point isn't any one brand. It is that two jars of ground cinnamon on the same shelf can differ by a factor of ten or more in lead, and nothing on the label tells you which is which.

The questions to ask any brand that uses cinnamon

This applies to chai, to spice blends, to granola and to anything else with cinnamon in the ingredients.

• Where does the cinnamon come from? A brand that cares can name the supplier, not just the country.
• Is it tested for heavy metals, and per lot? One test of one batch years ago says little about the bag you are buying.
• Are the results published, or only "available on request"? Published per-lot results are the strongest signal; you can check them yourself.
• What lead level does the brand hold itself to? With no federal limit, the brand's own number is the only number.
• Does "organic" answer this? No. Organic certification governs how crops are grown, not whether the finished spice is tested for lead, arsenic or cadmium.

If a brand can't answer the first two, the answer to the rest is usually no.

Why we buy from Red Ape Cinnamon

Five of the six spices in Meria Chai come from Red Ape Cinnamon, and the reason is the answers to those questions.

• Per-lot results, in public. Red Ape posts heavy-metal results by lot number at redapecinnamon.com/heavy-metal-testing-results and invites buyers to look up their own lot. It lists results for its cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg.
• Named labs. It says its testing is done by Genista Bioscience, AGQ Labs and Eurofins.
• Its own limits, stated. Red Ape holds cassia cinnamon to 0.1 ppm lead and Ceylon to 1 ppm, and says its cassia results "usually come in below .05 ppm and never above .1 ppm." It also lists limits for arsenic, cadmium and mercury.

At 0.1 ppm, a gram of cinnamon holds 0.1 micrograms of lead, a thirty-fourth of the top of the FDA's 2024 alert.

We publish the lab results for the Red Ape lots we're using now, matched from the lot numbers on our invoices, on our Sourcing page. Every published lot is under 1 ppm of lead, and we show each spice's numbers, not only the lowest.

FAQs

Is there an FDA limit for lead in cinnamon?

No. There is no federal limit for lead in cinnamon or any other spice. The FDA acts case by case, as it did in March 2024 when it warned consumers about ground cinnamon products that tested at 2.03 to 3.4 ppm of lead.

Which state regulates lead in spices?

New York, which Consumer Reports describes as the only US state that regulates heavy metals in spices. Its recall threshold for lead is 1 ppm.

How much lead is in 1 ppm cinnamon?

1 ppm means 1 microgram of lead per gram of cinnamon. The FDA's interim reference level for lead from food is 2.2 micrograms a day for children and 8.8 micrograms a day for women of childbearing age.

Does organic cinnamon have less lead?

Not necessarily. Organic certification covers how a crop is grown, not testing of the finished spice for heavy metals. Look for per-lot heavy-metal results instead.

How can I check the cinnamon I already have?

Look for a lot number on the package and ask the brand for that lot's heavy-metal results. Some suppliers, including Red Ape Cinnamon, publish them by lot number. If a brand can't tell you, that is your answer.

This article is informational and is not medical advice. If you are concerned about lead exposure, talk to your doctor; a blood test is the way to know a person's lead level. Sources, all read October 22, 2026: FDA alert on cinnamon products (March 6, 2024); FDA, Lead in Food and Foodwares; FDA, steps on lead in cinnamon; Consumer Reports, September 12, 2024; Red Ape Cinnamon heavy-metal testing.