WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, amid the
ongoing reports of lead poisoning in young children, announced several
additional steps to address concerns about elevated lead levels in various
cinnamon products. The agency also recommended recall of certain ground cinnamon
products sold by a number of brands at six different retail chains that were
found to contain elevated levels of lead.

The agency's actions were taken following the recent incident associated with
certain cinnamon apple sauce pouches that resulted in lead poisoning in young
children.

FDA's recommended recall includes ground cinnamon products by La Fiesta Food
Products sold through La Superior and SuperMercados retailers; Marcum, Moran
Foods, LLC sold through Save A Lot; MTCI through SF Supermarket; SWAD, Raja
Foods LLC through Patel Brothers; Supreme Tradition Greenbriar International,
Inc. through Dollar Tree and Family Dollar; and El Chilar through La Joya
Morelense.

The agency, through sample testing, has determined that these ground cinnamon
products contain elevated levels of lead and that prolonged exposure to these
products may be unsafe.

The short-term exposures to very low levels of lead may not elicit any symptoms,
and it is possible that increased blood lead levels may be the only apparent
sign of lead exposure.

The additional signs and symptoms of lead exposure likely include acute exposure
to higher levels of lead or chronic exposure to lead. If a child is exposed to
enough lead for a protracted period of time, it could cause permanent damage to
the central nervous system, likely resulting in learning disorders,
developmental defects, and other long-term health problems.

For adults, chronic lead exposure is associated with kidney dysfunction,
hypertension, and neurocognitive effects.

However, no illnesses or adverse events have been reported to date related to
the ground cinnamon products of these six makers.

The FDA said it has sent a letter to all cinnamon manufacturers, processors,
distributors and facility operators in the U.S., urging them to implement
controls to prevent contamination from potential chemical hazards in food,
including ground cinnamon products.

The FDA has recommended the distributors and manufacturers of products found to
contain elevated levels of lead to recall their respective products, with the
exception of the MTCI cinnamon, as the agency was unable to reach the firm to
share its findings.

North Bergen, New Jersey-based Colonna Brothers already recalled its Ground
Cinnamon under Marcum and Supreme Tradition brand names for the same concern
after directed by the FDA.

Consumers are urged to throw away and not to buy these alerted ground cinnamon
products.

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