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lead database / spices
tested by NYC NPSD, Pure Earth, King County + 2 more · CC-BY-SA 4.0

spices

spices are the canonical example of how lead gets into food on purpose. turmeric gets adulterated with lead chromate to make it more yellow. cumin and red pepper get the same treatment. the NYC department of health has been buying spices off bodega shelves since 2008 and testing them in their public health lab, those 3,477 NYC records are the backbone of this page.

add King County's puget sound store-shelf surveys, Pure Earth's global market data, 50 FDA recall notices, and a single EU Safety Gate alert, and you get a fairly complete picture of which spice brands have shown up with elevated lead in the last fifteen years.

every row is a real test. click any product name to read the original report.

2,085products tested
76brands
4,843measurements
download spice.csv (4,843 rows) ← back to hub
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loading 4,843 measurements...

browse by type

tap any type to see the actual products tested. units are ppb (parts per billion). 1,000 ppb = 1 ppm = 0.0001%. anything above ~1,000 ppb is elevated for food. anything above ~100,000 ppb is extreme.

loading 4,843 measurements from CDN...

top 10 highest lead concentrations

  1. 390,000,000 ppb (390,000 ppm = 39.0% by mass), Pepper mill - Electric Pepper Mill (Camry · People's Republic of China)
  2. 78,000,000 ppb (78,000 ppm = 7.8% by mass), TMT Khmeli Suneli (GEORGIA)
  3. 48,300,000 ppb (48,300 ppm = 4.8% by mass), Saffron ceramic mug (Kenya)
  4. 48,000,000 ppb (48,000 ppm = 4.8% by mass), Georgian saffron (zaprana) (GEORGIA)
  5. 27,000,000 ppb (27,000 ppm = 2.7% by mass), Zaprana (GEORGIA)
  6. 27,000,000 ppb (27,000 ppm = 2.7% by mass), Zaprana/Yellow Flower (GEORGIA)
  7. 22,000,000 ppb (22,000 ppm = 2.2% by mass), Saffron (GEORGIA)
  8. 22,000,000 ppb (22,000 ppm = 2.2% by mass), Georgian spice (Yellow flower) (GEORGIA)
  9. 22,000,000 ppb (22,000 ppm = 2.2% by mass), Yellow flower (GEORGIA)
  10. 21,000,000 ppb (21,000 ppm = 2.1% by mass), Curry Powder (UNKNOWN OR NOT STATED)

top 10 highest, brand-name only

  1. 390,000,000 ppb (390,000 ppm = 39.0% by mass), Pepper mill - Electric Pepper Mill (Camry · People's Republic of China)
  2. 4,500 ppb (4.5 ppm), Lipstick mabellline--touch of spice, mat (Maybelline · USA)
  3. 850 ppb (0.850 ppm), Sumac (Tadalim Baharat · Turkey)
  4. 820 ppb (0.820 ppm), Peppercorn, black and white (McCormick · France)
  5. 690 ppb (0.690 ppm), Cloves (ground) (Adonis Spices · Lebanon)
  6. 670 ppb (0.670 ppm), Garam Masala (Lehar · Mexico)
  7. 620 ppb (0.620 ppm), Chicken bouillon (Maggi · Eygpt)
  8. 570 ppb (0.570 ppm), Maggi mix Crayfish (M (J Halal) · Nigeria)
  9. 570 ppb (0.570 ppm), Ground Cinnamon (Snack-Mex · Mexico)
  10. 540 ppb (0.540 ppm), Maggi Cube (M · Nigeria)
researcher view: full sortable table (all 4,843 rows)

sortable by any column. filter by metal / source / country.

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product brand country metal ppb year evidence source
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where the data comes from

nine open-license datasets, stitched together. each row in the table above links to the original source.

units & methodology

every concentration is normalized to ppb (parts per billion), which is identical to µg/kg. 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb = 1 mg/kg. 10,000,000 ppb = 1% by mass. methodology and limits of detection vary per source. always click through to the original record before quoting a number.

limitations to keep in mind

1. categorization is keyword-based. some borderline products may sit in the wrong bucket.
2. there is no cross-source dedup. the same product may show up in NYC NPSD and king county and pure earth as three separate rows.
3. about 11% of rows are recall records (CPSC, FDA) that don't carry a ppb value. those show as "recall record" in the data column.
4. some values are extreme, up to 1,000,000,000 ppb (= 100% by mass). these are real measurements of solid-state lead in religious amulets, kohl powder, or jewelry charms. not edible.

download the raw data

download unified_v3.csv (67,497 rows · 12 MB)

license: CC-BY-SA 4.0. use this data for anything. attribute as "detectlead.com Lead Database" with a link back to this page, plus the original source for any row you cite. derivative works must use the same license.

other categories

baby food (1,002)cookware (2,340)cosmetics (1,542)supplements (840)toys (1,372)food (other) (420)electronics (753)paint (500)jewelry (369)candy (297)religious & ceremonial (122)vapes (41)

questions, corrections, or want to add a source? email eric@fluorospect.com or call 631-461-1838.

i made these. they are free.

six tools my family uses to keep our kid under the fda action threshold. type your email. you get all six on this page in two seconds.

  1. 1. Baby-Proof Lead Risk Calculatoran 8-question read of your house. returns a risk band you can defend to a pediatrician.
  2. 2. Blood Lead Calculator1,370 foods scored by purity labs with icp-ms. type what your kid ate this week, get µg/day vs the fda irl.
  3. 3. Baby Food Database18,000 lots, updated daily. search by brand, ingredient, lot.
  4. 4. Baby Bottle Review Sheetevery bottle on the market scored on lead and the substances that show up next to it.
  5. 5. Leaducational Pages2,165 dishes scanned with a niton xl5 plus, sorted by brand and pattern.
  6. 6. Lead Framework Book106 pages. learn, examine, abate, detox, live. the parent protocol that runs the whole house.

no spam. one short email every few days. leave any day you want, one click. by email i mean a parable and one thing to try, not a corporate newsletter.

here you go. six things, one tab each.

i copied your email to the list. the first email lands in a couple minutes. open the pack below now.

  1. 1. Baby-Proof Lead Risk Calculatoran 8-question read of your house and a band you can defend to a pediatrician.open →
  2. 2. Blood Lead Calculator1,370 foods scored by purity labs with icp-ms.open →
  3. 3. Baby Food Database18,000 lots. search by brand, ingredient, lot.open →
  4. 4. Baby Bottle Review Sheetevery bottle on the market scored on lead.open →
  5. 5. Leaducational Pages2,165 dishes scanned with a niton xl5 plus.open →
  6. 6. Lead Framework Book106 pages. learn, examine, abate, detox, live.open →

bookmark this page. the database and the leaducational pages update almost every day. the bottle sheet and the dish list grow as the lab finishes new runs.

or, if you want, grab a kit.

the information is free. the kit is for parents who, after reading the framework, decide they want to walk around the nursery with a drop bottle tonight. one drop of fluoro-spec on the painted side of a plate. if it's lead, it glows green in seconds. no lab.

see the drip kit, $50 →