4 ms·

Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead

jonahbenton 3y ago
(2021)
thfuran 3y ago
Is there any particular reason spices would be more of a concern than produce that are consumed fresh and in much higher quantities?
- 0xcde4c3db 3y ago
  I assume it's a lot easier to misrepresent a dried and pulverized product than a whole food product. A whole bunch of information about anatomical structure, texture, moisture content, color, etc. is lost when turning a fresh herb into a jar of powder.
- renewiltord 3y ago
  Easier to adulterate. Classic example is lead chromate in Turmeric, but perhaps Chrome Orange in saffron is possible too.
  - adonovan 3y ago
    Exactly. Metal salts add bright color and also weight.
- nabla9 3y ago
  Seeds accumulate heavy metals. Many spices are made from seeds. But there is also heavy metals in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
  - underlogic 3y ago
    The grinding apparatus often contaminates the product. Lead gears were used to increase reliability by the British and these spice fields still use machinery they left behind because it saves transport costs to compact on site.
- janalsncm 3y ago
  Yes, some spices like cinnamon were cut with chemicals which look like cinnamon. https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alert-concerning-certain-cinnamon-products-due-presence-elevated-levels-lead https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-informatio...
  - RetroTechie 3y ago
    Adulteration is one reason. Accidental contamination another. But also some plants tend to accumulate certain compounds. Possibly to 100...1000x the levels from the soil it grows in. Eg. rice is known to accumulate arsenic occuring in soils naturally. And some soils just happen to be rich in, or polluted with <insert undesired substance here>. Farmers may not even know. Or care...
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
- pvaldes 3y ago
  Fresh product has a lot of pure water and is less prone to be adulterated with dyes that can be toxic at middle or long-term. Is also normally unfalsifiable and cheaper, so there is less incentives into manipulating it.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> spices would be more of a concern than produce It looks like they were looking at ground spices?
extraduder_ire 3y ago
Related; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36481693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36481693 -- Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh (9 months ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38139011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38139011 -- How to stop adulterated turmeric from killing people (5 months ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375003 -- Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead (2021)
dsq 3y ago
Are there brands which are certified as free of these contaminants (and have proof)?

(2021)

Is there any particular reason spices would be more of a concern than produce that are consumed fresh and in much higher quantities?

0xcde4c3db 3y ago
I assume it's a lot easier to misrepresent a dried and pulverized product than a whole food product. A whole bunch of information about anatomical structure, texture, moisture content, color, etc. is lost when turning a fresh herb into a jar of powder.
renewiltord 3y ago
Easier to adulterate. Classic example is lead chromate in Turmeric, but perhaps Chrome Orange in saffron is possible too.
- adonovan 3y ago
  Exactly. Metal salts add bright color and also weight.
nabla9 3y ago
Seeds accumulate heavy metals. Many spices are made from seeds. But there is also heavy metals in sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, etc.
- underlogic 3y ago
  The grinding apparatus often contaminates the product. Lead gears were used to increase reliability by the British and these spice fields still use machinery they left behind because it saves transport costs to compact on site.
janalsncm 3y ago
Yes, some spices like cinnamon were cut with chemicals which look like cinnamon. https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-information/fda-alert-concerning-certain-cinnamon-products-due-presence-elevated-levels-lead https://www.fda.gov/food/alerts-advisories-safety-informatio...
- RetroTechie 3y ago
  Adulteration is one reason. Accidental contamination another. But also some plants tend to accumulate certain compounds. Possibly to 100...1000x the levels from the soil it grows in. Eg. rice is known to accumulate arsenic occuring in soils naturally. And some soils just happen to be rich in, or polluted with <insert undesired substance here>. Farmers may not even know. Or care...
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
pvaldes 3y ago
Fresh product has a lot of pure water and is less prone to be adulterated with dyes that can be toxic at middle or long-term. Is also normally unfalsifiable and cheaper, so there is less incentives into manipulating it.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> spices would be more of a concern than produce It looks like they were looking at ground spices?

extraduder_ire 3y ago

Related; https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36481693 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36481693 -- Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh (9 months ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38139011 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38139011 -- How to stop adulterated turmeric from killing people (5 months ago) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375003 -- Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead (2021)

dsq 3y ago

Are there brands which are certified as free of these contaminants (and have proof)?