Ground Cinnamon Sold Nationwide Recalled Due to Elevated Lead Levels
The FDA has also warned consumers not to purchase cinnamon from other brands.
Etienne Voss/Getty Images
Multiple brands of ground cinnamon have been recalled nationwide due to elevated lead levels. The impacted brands are Colonna Brothers and El Chilar Rodriguez. The Colonna Brothers-branded cinnamon was distributed nationwide through retail stores and mail order, while the El Chilar Rodriguez cinnamon was distributed to brick-and-mortar retail stores within the state of Maryland.
The recalled Colonna Brothers products are sold in a clear plastic jar labeled with either “Marcum Cinnamon Ground 1.5 oz” or “Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon 2.25 oz,” while the recalled El Chilar Rodriguez item, which has “Canela Molida” written on the front of the package, can be identified by the lot codes D300 EX1024 and F272 EX1026, which is stamped on the front side of the packaging. No illnesses related to either recall have been reported to date.
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All of the recalled items are listed below, with the appropriate best-buy dates and lot codes:
1.5oz Marcum Ground Cinnamon Best By: 10/16/25 Lot code: 10DB
1.5oz Marcum Ground Cinnamon Best By: 04/06/25 Lot code: 0400B1
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 09/29/25 Lot code: 09E8
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 04/17/25 Lot code: 04E11
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 12/19/25 Lot code: 12C2
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 04/12/25 Lot code: 04ECB12
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 08/24/25 Lot code: 08A
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 04/21/25 Lot code: 04E5
2.25oz Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Best By: 09/22/2025 Lot code: 09E20
El Chilar Rodriguez “Canela Molida” Lot codes: D300 EX1024 and F272 EX1026
In addition to the above recalled products, the United States Food & Drug Administration has issued an alert to consumers regarding six additional brands of ground cinnamon due to elevated levels of lead. According to a warning from the agency, shoppers should throw away and not buy these ground cinnamon products. The FDA is also recommending that they be formally recalled. The other impacted brands (listed here with product images) include La Fiesta Food Products, Moran Foods, MTCI, Raja Foods, Greenbriar International, Inc., and El Chilar Apopka.
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Per the FDA, prolonged exposure to these cinnamon products may be unsafe and might cause elevated levels of lead in the blood. Long-term exposure (months to years) to elevated levels of lead could contribute to adverse health effects. For adults, chronic lead exposure is associated with kidney dysfunction, hypertension, and neuro-cognitive effects. Children exposed to lead for an extended period of time may experience learning disorders, developmental defects, and other long-term health problems.
This ground cinnamon warning from the FDA comes after the agency opted to expand lead and chromium testing to include additional cinnamon products following the October 2023 recall of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products due to elevated lead levels linked to the cinnamon in those items.
Related: What to Do If You Have Recalled Food In Your Kitchen
The cinnamon products from the six distributors mentioned above had elevated lead levels ranging from 2.03 to 3.4 parts per million (ppm.) While prolonged exposure to that amount of lead can still be dangerous, these levels are significantly lower than the levels of lead associated with the ongoing investigation into ground cinnamon found in apple puree and applesauce products, which were between 2,270 ppm to 5,110 ppm. Still, the FDA has sent a letter to all cinnamon manufacturers, processors, distributors, and facility operators in the country, reminding them of the requirement to implement controls to prevent contamination.
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