12 Brands of Cinnamon Sold in NY Contain Poisonous Chemical

Before you bake a pumpkin pie for the family gathering you'll want to check what brand of cinnamon you're using to determine if it could be dangerous.

Consumer Reports is warning New Yorkers about high levels of lead that have been discovered in a dozen popular brands of spices. According to the publication, many of these cinnamon brands contain more lead in one-quarter teaspoon than what's healthy to be consumed in an entire day.

Spices Purchased in New York Trigger Serious Warning

Consumer Reports purchased 36 brands of cinnamon from 17 stores in New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. After testing the spices for contaminates, publishers discovered that 12 of the cinnamon samples contained 1 part per million of lead, which is enough to have the items recalled in New York State.

Health experts suggest that if you have purchased the cinnamon brands listed below you should throw them out immediately. According to Dr. James Rogers, the director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports, even eating a small amount of contaminated cinnamon can accumulate in your body for years. The build-up of lead can pose a serious health risk.

While children and pregnant women are at elevated risk for complications from lead exposure, even healthy adults can suffer from damage to their immune system, reproduction, kidneys and heart.

12 Brands of Cinnamon to Immediately Throw Out

Consumer Reports is urging New Yorkers to stop using the following brands of cinnamon which were found to contain over 1ppm of lead, the threshold for recall in New York.

• Paras Cinnamon Powder - 3.52ppm
• EGN Cinnamon Powder - 2.91ppm
• Mimi's Products Ground Cinnamon - 2.03 ppm
• Bowl & Basket (Shoprite Brand) Ground Cinnamon - 1.82 ppm
• Rani Brand Ground Cinnamon - 1.39 ppm
• Zara Foods Cinnamon Powder - 1.27 ppm
• Three Rivers Cinnamon Stick Powder - 1.26 ppm
• Yu Yee Brand Five Spice Powder - 1.25 ppm
• BaiLiFeng Five Spice Powder - 1.15 ppm
• Spicy King Five Spices Powder - 1.05 ppm
• Badia Cinnamon Powder - 1.03 ppm
• Deep Cinnamon Powder - 1.02 ppm

Brands that have been deemed safe to use include Kirkland Signature, Great Value, Morton & Bassett San Francisco, Simply Organic and McCormick. A full list of the tested cinnamon brands can be found on the Consumer Reports website.