Ground cinnamon recall: What is Canada’s response?

In the wake of U.S. warnings about ground cinnamon products, Canada says it is monitoring the situation and doesn’t believe any products are affected in the country.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) posted on its website Monday that U.S. company American Spices LLC is recalling its Spice Class Brand ground cinnamon due to potential contamination from “elevated levels of lead.”

It added warnings about eight other brands of cinnamon products Tuesday, recommending the companies voluntarily recall them, and said no illnesses were reported so far.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says it is aware of the FDA’s concerns about certain ground cinnamon products due to potential contamination from elevated levels of lead.

“The CFIA has been in contact with U.S. authorities and is monitoring the situation,” the CFIA wrote in a statement to CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “The CFIA is not aware of any Canadian distribution of the recalled products.”

The government agency said it will notify the public with more information and post warnings about products affected by recalls on its website. Consumers can also sign up for notifications about recalls.

Health Canada and the CFIA have surveillance programs to monitor chemical contaminants in food, including lead, the CFIA added.

If concentrations are higher than the maximum permitted levels, the CFIA says it will assess the situation and may issue a food recall.

Lead found in nine U.S. products

The FDA announced Tuesday that it confirmed through tests the presence of “elevated levels of lead” in nine ground cinnamon products. It has not reported any illnesses so far but is advising consumers to throw away or avoid buying the products.

“The FDA is continuing to analyze cinnamon and review sample results received from state partners who have been continuously sampling ground cinnamon at retail for elevated levels of lead,” it wrote.

“Short term exposures to very low levels of lead may not elicit any symptoms,” the FDA wrote in a press release on Monday. “It is possible that increased blood lead levels may be the only apparent sign of lead exposure.”