Cinnamon
Photo of stick and ground cinnamon via Wikimedia
Cinnamon is a valuable and versatile spice. It goes in sweet baked goods, candies, and savory dishes, it seasons our drinks, meats, and poultry dishes, and when used in low-sugar foods cinnamon adds sweetness without the sugar hit. The Dirt Doctor describes his home-brewed tea on each week’s radio show, and cinnamon is frequently one of the ingredients. (Listeners to the Dirt Doctor Radio Show also know that cinnamon is one of the active ingredients in a weed killer called AgraLawn Crabgrass Killer.)
A recent food safety update (January-February 2025) in Consumer Reports discussed a dozen brands of ground cinnamon that were found to have higher than healthy (more than 2 parts per million) amounts of lead. They tested 36 products and came up with three lists: 1. Don’t use, 2: Use sparingly, and 3. Best to use.
Cinnamon comes from several countries and the companies listed are diverse. Brands such as Badia, Paras, Mimi’s Products and Zara Foods were on the “don’t use” list. In the “use sparingly” category were some familiar names, ground cinnamon from Great Value, Trader Joe’s, Kirkland, Penzey’s (their regular and Vietnamese products), Simply Organic, and McCormic. They listed amounts that could be used safely each day (ranging from 1/4 teaspoon for some to a full teaspoon of others.)
Cinnamon from Ceylon (left) and Vietnam.
The six best to use products were Sadaf, 365 Whole Foods Market, Loisa, Morton & Bassett San Francisco, and 365 Whole Foods Market organic cinnamon. Even these products were given daily limits you should observe, but noted that “These products demonstrate that it’s possible to produce cinnamon with no lead or extremely low levels.”
The brands (and portions) that are the safest to consume in higher amounts. From Consumer Reports.
For the full story, you may need to be a magazine subscriber to read this link (or visit your local library and use one of the magazine databases.)
Q: In the Nov/Dec 03 issue of the Countryside Journal a reader mentions that he heard on your radio program that cinnamon is toxic to ants. I have beehives and sometimes ants invade the beehives.Would cinnamon be toxic to bees? — K.D.
A: Cinnamon is more a repellent than a killing material so the danger would be minor to the bees. I think it would be worth a try.