After hundreds of children across the U.S. contracted lead poisoning after eating fruit puree pouches containing contaminated cinnamon, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an investigation into the offending ingredient and identified an Ecuadorian manufacturer as the source. FDA announced its suspicion that the cinnamon was intentionally adulterated with lead and carried out further sample collection and testing, finding chromium in the samples and concluding that the lead and chromium were present due to adulteration by lead chromate.

Continued FDA investigation activities prompted the agency to announce a recall of six additional ground cinnamon products that were found to contain elevated levels of lead. The complete list of recalled products can be viewed on FDA’s website. The agency also issued a letter to all cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the U.S., reminding them of the requirement to implement controls to prevent contamination from potential chemical hazards in food, including ground cinnamon products.