Heavy Metals in Spices
Heavy Metals in Spices: What You Need to Know
Lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury have turned up in spices sold across the U.S. — including, in late 2023, in cinnamon applesauce that was recalled after testing found lead levels over 2,000 times higher than industry guidelines. In October 2025, the FDA issued a separate warning identifying 13 cinnamon brands with excessive lead levels. This isn't a rare, one-off problem. It's a real risk in an industry with surprisingly little regulation.
Why This Happens
Heavy metals occur naturally in soil, but they also enter the spice supply chain through contaminated growing regions, added fillers, and inconsistent sourcing standards. Because spices are often ground into fine powders and sourced from many different farms and processors, contamination in even one batch can be difficult to trace — and easy for a supplier to miss if they're not testing every lot.
The Regulatory Gap
Here's the part most people don't know: the FDA has not established legal limits for heavy metals in spices. Regulators have instead focused on setting guidelines for products aimed at higher-risk populations, like baby food. That leaves spice quality largely up to individual manufacturers to self-regulate — which means it matters enormously which brand you trust.
The American Spice Trade Association (ASTA) does publish voluntary guidelines — for example, an upper limit of 2.0 ppm for lead. The recalled cinnamon applesauce mentioned above tested at over 5,000 ppm. That gap is exactly why third-party testing, not just a label claim, matters.
How Smith & Truslow Tests
Every ingredient we sell — not just a sample batch, but every incoming lot — is screened by an accredited third-party laboratory before it ships, checked against ASTA and European Union guidelines for lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury. Those guidelines are stricter than what U.S. regulators currently require.
We don't ask you to take our word for it. Each single-ingredient product page includes a direct link to that product's current lab test results — no email request, no waiting.
See an example on our Organic Ceylon Cinnamon Heavy Metal Test Results Page
One honest limitation: we test every individual ingredient, but not finished blends as a combined product. If a blend contains six tested, compliant ingredients, we don't run an additional test on the mixed blend itself. We'd rather be upfront about exactly what "tested" means than overstate it.
Should You Be Concerned?
If you're buying spices that meet ASTA and EU guidelines — like ours — the amount most people consume is small enough that it shouldn't be a meaningful health concern. Spices make up less than 0.1% of the average daily diet, far below staples like grains or fruit. The real risk is buying a spice that was never tested at all, and having no way of knowing what's actually in the jar.
See the Proof for Yourself
Every product page for our single-ingredient spices and herbs links directly to that lot's current test results. Have questions about a specific product, a blend, or anything else? Reach out anytime at customerservice@smithandtruslow.com.
