You can't trust your vegetables or meats, and now, you can't trust your spices! A national recall has been placed on a specific brand of cinnamon. Per the FDA, the El Servidor Corp ground cinnamon has been pulled from shelves. According to the announcement, the Gutierrez brand cinnamon potentially has "elevated levels of lead."
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"Short term exposures to very low levels of lead may not elicit any symptoms. It is possible that increased blood lead levels may be the only apparent sign of lead exposure. Additional signs and symptoms of lead exposure are more likely with acute exposure to higher levels of lead or chronic exposure to lead," the announcement clarifies.
"While lead can affect nearly every bodily system, its effects depend upon the amount and duration of lead exposure and age/body weight. If a child is exposed to enough lead for a protracted period of time (e.g., weeks to months), permanent damage to the central nervous system may occur. This can result 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."
There's A Recall On A Brand Of Popular Spice
Additionally, no illnesses have been reported in connection with the cinnamon. Further, the ground cinnamon was distributed to retail stores in New York. "The product comes in a 1.5-ounce clear plastic bag," the FDA announcement explains.
Indeed, if you have any of the affected products lying around, dispose of them immediately. Alternatively, you can return the cinnamon to the place you bought it from and receive a full refund. Basically, we live in a dystopia where all of our food is slowly but surely turning on us. Between the deli meats, juices, nuggets, and everything else that's been recalled lately, you have to wonder where or when it ends.
Then again, perhaps I'll err on the side of optimism here. Maybe we'll accidentally eat so many toxic components in our food that it'll strengthen our immune systems to untold degrees. We may be a few generations away from being superheroes! ...Or at least having superhero-level internal organs.
