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well. it turns out the cinnamon used in them may have been laced with lead on purpose.

An FDA spokesperson said that one of the agency’s theories for the WanaBana cinnamon applesauce contamination was “economically motivated adulteration.” (…)

Economically motivated adulteration, or “food fraud,” can occur when a cheaper ingredient is added to a product to enhance it or bulk it up, but is not disclosed, according to the FDA. One example, the agency said, is when lead-based dyes are added to spices to give the product a certain color.

I'm not gonna dox myself by saying precisely what I do for a living, but I am involved in public environmental health, and in the past have conducted home investigations in child lead poisoning cases. For years, foreign spices have been a problem, particularly for immigrant families who visit relatives overseas and bring spices back from south asia in particular.

During and immediately after covid, however, we started finding domestically sold spices coming back from lab testing with high lead results. Sam's club, wal-mart, etc. We used to tell families to buy domestically instead of bringing things back from India, Pakistan, etc, but even that isn't safe anymore.

you can also buy lead-testing swabs on the Internet. some of these are not reliable, so I'd recommend testing the lead-testing swabs. use a swab on something that you know is lead (a fishing sinker, a car battery, etc) and another swab on something that you know is lead-free (most things in your home, hopefully) and make sure you get the expected results.

there was no safe oregano or thyme among their tests

for basil and ginger, only one brand was found to be safe in each

for paprika and cumin, half of the products were unsafe

a few of the spices they tested were considered "high concern" as in, their highest level of danger on this scale

consumer reports recommends growing your own herbs when possible because herbs and spices can be so dangerous to buy