Urgent Recall of Illinois Cinnamon When Missouri Found Lead in It

Illinois and Missouri have an unusual connection to an emergency recall that's just been issued for cinnamon powder. The cinnamon was made and distributed by a company in Illinois, but it was authorities in Missouri that found lead in it.

This urgent bulletin from the Food and Drug Administration says that you need to check your cinnamon powder if you picked it up from a store in either Illinois or Missouri. Asli Fine Foods of Woodridge, Illinois has issued this recall of their cinnamon product which comes in a package that looks like this.

Here's how Missouri got involved. Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services was doing what the FDA describes as a "routine sampling" and detected lead in those samples. After the company and FDA were notified, the Woodridge, Illinois company ceased production until they can discover what caused the contamination.

If you find that you have this cinnamon, you should return it to the store it was purchased at for a full refund.

The good news is no illnesses have been reported to the FDA as of the date of this writing. The bulletin notes that small amounts of lead may not display any symptoms, but it becomes a bigger problem if children are exposed to it for extended periods of time as it can lead to nervous system damage and developmental disabilities.