A recall of ALB Flavor ground cinnamon was issued in late July.  At issue are violative levels of lead as determined by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.  The implicated cinnamon was distributed to retailers in New York, Connecticut, Michigan and Massachusetts over an extended period from December 2022 through May 2024.

It is considered significant that confirmation of the contamination in the product was determined by a state agency.  Where was the FDA?  This Agency is tasked with ensuring the health of consumers should have instituted assays for heavy metals in all brands of cinnamon products in 2023. It would have been logical to follow up on the recall of cinnamon-flavored apple sauce pouches marketed for children.  The fact that cinnamon was demonstrated to be a vehicle for lead and other heavy metal contaminants should have generated proactive concern by FDA involving sampling of available cinnamon products.

The passive and reactive approach by FDA supports the initiative to establish a dedicated and independent food safety and nutrition agency under the Department of Health and Human Services, separate from the FDA.  Despite the appointment of a Deputy Commissioner responsible for food and the reorganization of the byzantine FDA organizational chart, it is questioned whether the FDA is any more equipped to function in accordance with the needs of consumers than it was after the infant-formula debacle.