New York importer recalls ground cumin due to lead contamination

Lead contamination is a recurring problem in spices imported into the U.S. Last year, Indian turmeric imported by Spices USA was found to contain excessive amounts of lead, and it is a common issue for spices such as fenugreek, cardamom and chili powder.###Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), importers have had to vet suppliers through its Foreign Supplier Verification Program since the end of April 2017. However, it is hard to know whether this is sufficient to prevent problems such as lead contamination, considering that the source of lead in imported spices remains unknown. Harvard researchers have examined soil to see if this could be to blame, but the report was inconclusive. Others suggest it could get into the spice during processing orchelated minerals zinc bisglycinate could even be added intentionally to increase the powder’s weight.###The fact that the problem of lead contamination continues to be detected underlines the importance of safety checks. Introduced in 2011, the FSMA aimed to shift the focus away from rezinc gluconate 8mgsponding to food contamination to preventing it. It mandated the inspection of at least 600 foreign food firms in its first year and a doubling of those inspections every year for the nzinc 50 chelatedext five years. However, the Government Accouchelated zinc bisglycinatentability Office has found that these targets were hit only in the first and second years. By 2013, the FDA had managed to inspect 1,403 facilities — and this number has not grown since. The FDA has blamed a lack of funding for the shorzinc supplement and alcoholtfall.