According to Consumer Report’s tests of 15 types of dried herbs and spices, roughly one-third of the brands tested had high enough levels of the heavy metals arsenic, lead, and cadmium, to create a health concern for children when regularly consumed in typical serving sizes. Most raised concern for adults, too.
Over time, in children, exposure to heavy metals can affect brain development, increasing the risk for behavioral problems and lower IQ. In adults, heavy metals contribute to central nervous system and reproductive problems, hypertension and can damage kidney and immune function.
Consumer Reports looked at 126 individual products from national and private-label brands, including Great Value (Walmart), La Flor, McCormick, Kirkland (Costco), Amazon’s Happy Belly brand, Penzeys, Simply Organic, Spice Islands, Trader Joe’s and more. This includes both organic and conventional brands.
Only the first 8 minutes.
The FDA doesn’t regulate this, leaving it up to the companies.
Consumer Reports did not test baking spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg.
Is there a way to know if the herbs and spices you have been buying contain arsenic, cadmium, and lead? Yes! At least, now you can steer away from those we know are testing contaminated with heavy metals.
The good news? Many products performed well in the tests.
Spices FREE FROM Concerning Levels of Heavy Metals Lead, Arsenic, & Cadmium
RECOMMENDED LIST OF ORGANIC SPICES ONLY.
In order to help make this easier for everyone, these all passed the “best” category separately and are also made from organically grown plants.
- Simply Organic Basil
- Simply Organic Black Pepper
- Simply Organic Chili Powder
- Simply Organic Coriander
- Simply Organic Ground Cumin
- Simply Organic Curry Powder
- Simply Organic Garlic Powder
- Simply Organic Ginger
- Simply Organic Paprika
- Simply Organic Turmeric
- Krokos Kozanis Organic Greek Red Saffron
- Grain Brain Organic Hulled Sesame Seeds
- Great Value (Walmart) Org Grd White Pepper
RECOMMENDED LIST OF BOTH ORGANIC AND NON-ORGANIC PRODUCTS.
Note: ALL oregano and thyme products (including organic) were tested at concerning levels. I recommend you purchase those spices fresh or grow them in your garden.
UPDATE: I just ordered reasonably-priced, organically-grown, live thyme and oregano plants from Azure Standard here and will grow my own.
Basil
Black Pepper
- El Guapo Blk Pepper Grnd(Pimienta Negra Molida)
- Badia Ground Blk Pepper (Pimienta Negra Molida)
- McCormick Pure Ground Blk Pepper
- Casablanca Ground Blk Pepper (Pimienta Negra)
- Trader Joe’s Organic Ground Blk Pepper
- Kirkland Signature (Costco) Fine Grnd Blk Pepper
- Simply Organic Blk Pepper
- Tone’s Ground Blk Pepper
- Penzeys Spices Tellicherry Blk Pepper Fine Shaker
- Great Value (Walmart) Ground Blk Pepper
Chili Powder
- Morton & Bassett Organic Chili Powder
- El Guapo Grd California Chili (Chile Cali Molido)
- Gebhardt Chili Powder
- Spice Islands Chili Powder
- Simply Organic Chili Powder
- Badia Polvo de Chili Powder
- Swad Chilli Powder
- Good & Gather (Target) Chili Powder
- McCormick Dark Chili Powder
Coriander
- Simply Organic Coriander
- Laxmi Brand Coriander Powder
- Happy Belly (Amazon) Ground Coriander
- Spice Islands Ground Coriander
- Badia Ground Coriander (Culantro Molido)
- Great Value (Walmart) Org. Ground Coriander
- Morton & Bassett Ground Coriander
- Penzeys Spices Coriander Ground
Cumin
- Simply Organic Ground Cumin
- 365 Whole Foods Market Cumin Ground
- Morton & Bassett Ground Cumin
- Spice Islands Ground Cumin Seed
- McCormick Ground Cumin
Curry
- Simply Organic Curry Powder
- McCormick Curry Powder
- Happy Belly (Amazon) Curry Powder
- Great Value (Walmart) Organic Curry Powder
- Morton & Bassett Curry
- Spice Islands Curry Powder
- Jamaican Choice Jamaican Curry Powder
- Caribbean Rhythms Mild Curry Powder
- Badia “Jamaican Style” Curry Powder
Garlic Powder
- Simply Organic Garlic Powder
- Bolner’s Fiesta Garlic Powder
- Kirkland Signature (Costco) Gran California Garlic
- 365 Whole Foods Market Organic Garlic Powder
- McCormick Garlic Powder
- Great Value (Walmart) Granulated Garlic
- Lawry’s Casero Garlic Powder (Ajo en Polvo)
- La Flor Garlic Powder (Ajo en Polvo)
- Badia Garlic Powder (Ajo en Polvo)
- Spice Supreme Garlic Powder
Ginger
Turmeric
- Simply Organic Turmeric
- Sadaf Turmeric Powder (Curcuma)
- Badia Ground Turmeric (Curcuma Molida)
- Laxmi Brand Turmeric Powder
- Spice Islands Turmeric
Paprika
- Morton & Bassett Paprika
- 365 Whole Foods Market Paprika
- Simply Organic Paprika
- Spice Islands Paprika
Saffron
- Pacific Plaza Imports Full Thread Spanish Saffron
- Krokos Kozanis Organic Greek Red Saffron
- Vigo Imported Saffron
- Badia Pure Selected Saffron (Azafran)
- McCormick Gourmet All Natural Spanish Saffron
- Sadaf Pure, Premium Saffron Thread
Sesame
- Sincerely Nuts Sesame Hulled
- Woodstock Organic Sesame Tahini Unsalted
- Al Wadi Al Akhdar Tahina 100% Ground Sesame
- Grain Brain Organic Hulled Sesame Seeds
- Bob’s Red Mill Premium Hulled White Sesame Seeds
- Roland Tahini Pure Ground Sesame Seed
- JFC Premium Roasted White Sesame Seed
White Pepper
- Simply Organic Ground White Pepper
- Spice Islands Ground White Pepper
- Sadaf Ground White Pepper (Poivre Blanc Moulu)
- McCormick Ground White Pepper
- Great Value (Walmart) Organic Ground White Pepper
- Penzeys Spices White Pepper Indonesia Fine Ground
- Badia Ground White (Pepper Pimenta Blanca Molida)
- Morton & Bassett Ground White Pepper
- La Flor White Pepper
VERY BAD CHOICES that have high levels of either arsenic, lead or cadmium. I recommend you not purchase spices from this category at all.
- Spice Islands –Sweet Basil
- La Flor Ground Oregano
- Tone’s Ground Thyme
- Happy Belly (Amazon) Ground Thyme
- La Flor Ground Turmeric
*If you use a lot of basil, oregano, and thyme, it might be a particularly good idea to grow your own. In the Consumer Report tests all or almost all the brands tested were high in heavy metals. Read more about how to grow and dry your own herbs and spices.
*Don’t bringing back herbs and spices from travel abroad. Research shows heavy metal content can be much higher in those products.
*Consider your total potential exposure to heavy metals from all sources. That means not only choosing spices that are low risk, but also test your water for lead and arsenic and, if levels are high, installing a water filter.
***For the Full Spike Protein Protocol to protect from transmission from the “V” and to help those who took the “V”, go here.
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Laurie A
Well, that is concerning. I do grow and preserve basil, thyme and oregano, but have on occasion bought thyme, when I hadn’t harvested enough. This is good to know.