Horrifying: turmeric often purposefully spiked with lead

[Anonymous]

Researchers even suspect it has been linked to upwards of 1.4M deaths in children in SE Asia. Bangladesh cracked down on the problem, but it seems to still exist in India.

Who knows what I the hell you’re buying from ethnic stores? Spices are also sold by weight, so spiking with dense adulterants like lead is an easy way to boost profits. After reading this, I’d never buy ground turmeric powder that’s made abroad ever again. This also makes me scared to eat anything with turmeric at restaurants, because you don’t know where they’re buying it from. We can probably guess they’re using the cheapest sources possible for spices like turmeric rather than freshly ground.


Just terrible: https://web.archive.org/web/20240217105326/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/11/02/how-to-stop-turmeric-from-killing-people

[Anonymous]

That is terrible, turmeric is in pre made gold milk mixes, countless new products (like cereal, smoothies, yogurts) featuring trending ingredients, and even supplement capsules

[Anonymous]

I read that this has happened with cinnamon, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I read that this has happened with cinnamon, too.

I would spend extra money only buying spices made by American companies.

[Anonymous]

This has been happening for so long - olive oil from Italy is often tainted, our pharmaceuticals from China are dangerous and so on...

[Anonymous]

This was the case with the lead in kids applesauce pouches. The cinnamon was from Ecuador and they suspect it had been cut with lead to make more money.

[Anonymous]

I grew up in India and we always knew this. My grandmother would dry fresh turmeric roots and grind our whole family’s supply once a year. I only buy turmeric from a couple of places now.

[Anonymous]

Good thing I never use it.

[Anonymous]

I don't get it. Why cut with lead? Aren't there other things to cut with that don't kill people? Like sawdust or something?

[Anonymous]

I assume because it's expensive, sold by weight, and lead is heavy.

In the US, you get the lead in the water, so I wouldn't necessarily go casting stones at other countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't get it. Why cut with lead? Aren't there other things to cut with that don't kill people? Like sawdust or something?

It's lead chromate..it gives an intense yellow color. Plus because of the density of the lead atom it adds fake weight with little volume giving bigger profit margins too.

[Anonymous]

Lead added to wine makes it last longer. Not sure if it helps with spices but it might. This has been known for thousands of years and has also been known to be harmful for that long and has been banned for that long. But people will still try to cheat to make a buck.

[Anonymous]

Are vitamins safe? I have recently bought turmeric from both sports research and life extension, which to my understanding are reputable brands.

Wonder if I should keep taking it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are vitamins safe? I have recently bought turmeric from both sports research and life extension, which to my understanding are reputable brands.

Wonder if I should keep taking it

Who knows….theyre not really regulated by fda from my understanding. Where is the turmeric coming from and who is making it?

[Anonymous]

Is there a safe brand of ground turmeric? Penzeys? I’ve been on an anti-inflammatory type diet and have been sprinkling turmeric on good once a day. It’s frustrating how everything has issues, even when you try to do healthy things. I’ve been using a McCormick organic powder. I’ve figured it probably doesn’t even do much but why not… but if it contains lead maybe it’s not a good idea.