Bella
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"Some spice processors in Bangladesh use an industrial lead chromate pigment to imbue turmeric with a bright yellow color prized for curries and other traditional dishes, elevating blood lead levels in Bangladeshis."
Below are excepts from the article by Rob Jordan. - Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment See the link below for the full article.
"It’s billed as a health booster and healing agent, but it may be the source of cognitive defects and other severe ailments. A new Stanford-led study reveals that turmeric – a commonly used spice throughout South Asia – is sometimes adulterated with a lead-laced chemical compound in Bangladesh, one of the world’s predominant turmeric-growing regions.
Long banned from food products, lead is a potent neurotoxin considered unsafe in any quantity.
"People are unknowingly consuming something that could cause major health issues,” said the papers’ lead author Jenna Forsyth, a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “We know adulterated turmeric is a source of lead exposure, and we have to do something about it.”
"The first study, available online in Environmental Research, involves a range of analyses, including interviews with farmers and spice processors in several Bangladesh districts, which together produce nearly half of the nation’s turmeric. Many traced the issue to the 1980s, when a massive flood left turmeric crops wet and relatively dull in color. Demand for bright yellow curry led turmeric processors to add lead chromate – an industrial yellow pigment commonly used to color toys and furniture – to their product. The practice continued as a cheap, fast way to produce a desirable color.
As a potent neurotoxin, lead increases the risk of heart and brain disease in adults and interferes with children’s brain development. About 90 percent of children with elevated blood lead levels live in lower-income countries, and resulting cognitive damages are associated with nearly one trillion dollars in lost productivity annually.
“Unlike other metals, there is no safe consumption limit for lead, it’s a neurotoxin in its totality,” said the papers’ senior author Stephen Luby, professor of medicine and the director of research for Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health.
The researchers did not find direct evidence of contaminated turmeric beyond Bangladesh, and they point out that food safety checks by the importing countries have incentivized large-scale Bangladesh spice processors to limit the amount of lead added to turmeric destined for export. However, the researchers caution, “the current system of periodic food safety checks may catch only a fraction of the adulterated turmeric being traded worldwide.” In fact, since 2011, more than 15 brands of turmeric – distributed to countries including the U.S. – have been recalled due to excessive levels of lead.
While these recalls and previous studies found the presence of lead in turmeric, none clearly identified the source (some suggested it might be linked to soil contamination), proved the link to blood lead levels or revealed the problem’s pervasiveness and incentives perpetuating it."
Stanford Researchers Find Lead In Turmeric > https://news.stanford.edu/2019/09/24/lead-found-turmeric/
Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States > https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415259/
"Financially motivated adulteration of spices is a long-standing and important public health problem worldwide. For example, in 1994, ground paprika adulterated with lead oxide resulted in the poisoning and hospitalization of >50 people in Hungary. Today, adulteration of turmeric with lead chromate, which is vibrant yellow, is a concern in India and Bangladesh. In this commentary, we summarize a growing body of evidence indicating that turmeric containing excessive concentrations of lead is available for purchase in US grocery stores and that childhood lead-poisoning cases attributable to consumption of contaminated turmeric have occurred in the United States. We hypothesize that turmeric is being intentionally adulterated with lead to enhance its weight, color, or both. Additionally, we review current regulations on spice safety and provide recommendations for consumers, public health professionals, and government agencies charged with ensuring the safety of the US food supply."
Organic turmeric is no exception and it's not just turmeric, many spices are contaminated with lead.
Food for thought.
Bella
Below are excepts from the article by Rob Jordan. - Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment See the link below for the full article.
"It’s billed as a health booster and healing agent, but it may be the source of cognitive defects and other severe ailments. A new Stanford-led study reveals that turmeric – a commonly used spice throughout South Asia – is sometimes adulterated with a lead-laced chemical compound in Bangladesh, one of the world’s predominant turmeric-growing regions.
Long banned from food products, lead is a potent neurotoxin considered unsafe in any quantity.
"People are unknowingly consuming something that could cause major health issues,” said the papers’ lead author Jenna Forsyth, a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. “We know adulterated turmeric is a source of lead exposure, and we have to do something about it.”
"The first study, available online in Environmental Research, involves a range of analyses, including interviews with farmers and spice processors in several Bangladesh districts, which together produce nearly half of the nation’s turmeric. Many traced the issue to the 1980s, when a massive flood left turmeric crops wet and relatively dull in color. Demand for bright yellow curry led turmeric processors to add lead chromate – an industrial yellow pigment commonly used to color toys and furniture – to their product. The practice continued as a cheap, fast way to produce a desirable color.
As a potent neurotoxin, lead increases the risk of heart and brain disease in adults and interferes with children’s brain development. About 90 percent of children with elevated blood lead levels live in lower-income countries, and resulting cognitive damages are associated with nearly one trillion dollars in lost productivity annually.
“Unlike other metals, there is no safe consumption limit for lead, it’s a neurotoxin in its totality,” said the papers’ senior author Stephen Luby, professor of medicine and the director of research for Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health.
The researchers did not find direct evidence of contaminated turmeric beyond Bangladesh, and they point out that food safety checks by the importing countries have incentivized large-scale Bangladesh spice processors to limit the amount of lead added to turmeric destined for export. However, the researchers caution, “the current system of periodic food safety checks may catch only a fraction of the adulterated turmeric being traded worldwide.” In fact, since 2011, more than 15 brands of turmeric – distributed to countries including the U.S. – have been recalled due to excessive levels of lead.
While these recalls and previous studies found the presence of lead in turmeric, none clearly identified the source (some suggested it might be linked to soil contamination), proved the link to blood lead levels or revealed the problem’s pervasiveness and incentives perpetuating it."
Stanford Researchers Find Lead In Turmeric > https://news.stanford.edu/2019/09/24/lead-found-turmeric/
Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States > https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415259/
"Financially motivated adulteration of spices is a long-standing and important public health problem worldwide. For example, in 1994, ground paprika adulterated with lead oxide resulted in the poisoning and hospitalization of >50 people in Hungary. Today, adulteration of turmeric with lead chromate, which is vibrant yellow, is a concern in India and Bangladesh. In this commentary, we summarize a growing body of evidence indicating that turmeric containing excessive concentrations of lead is available for purchase in US grocery stores and that childhood lead-poisoning cases attributable to consumption of contaminated turmeric have occurred in the United States. We hypothesize that turmeric is being intentionally adulterated with lead to enhance its weight, color, or both. Additionally, we review current regulations on spice safety and provide recommendations for consumers, public health professionals, and government agencies charged with ensuring the safety of the US food supply."
Organic turmeric is no exception and it's not just turmeric, many spices are contaminated with lead.
Food for thought.
Bella
