Imported Spices, Candy and Remedies May Contain Hidden Lead
CDC says some foods, cosmetics and traditional medicines imported from other countries contain lead; you can’t tell by looking at or tasting a product, and only laboratory testing can confirm it. CDC says it is best to avoid the use of products that may contain lead, and to contact your child’s health care provider if you think your child has been exposed.
CDC also says consuming even small amounts of lead can be harmful, and lead poisoning from these items can cause illness or death; people selling these products may not know whether they contain lead. This article follows CDC’s page: the kinds of products that have contained lead, the products CDC names, and what to do if you think your child was exposed. Health situations differ, so ask your health care provider if you have questions.
Kinds of products that have contained lead
CDC explains (CDC Lead in Foods, Cosmetics, and Medicines):
- Candy: some candies have contained lead; chili powder and tamarind may be sources when they are dried, stored or ground improperly, and ink from plastic or paper candy wrappers may leach lead into the candy.
- Spices: certain spices imported from Vietnam, India, Syria and other countries have contained lead.
- Traditional medicines: powders and tablets for arthritis, infertility, upset stomach, menstrual cramps, colic and other illnesses have contained lead; they were traditionally used in East Indian, Indian, Middle Eastern, West Asian and Hispanic cultures, and lead or other heavy metals may be added during grinding or coloring, or come from the packaging.
- Cosmetics and ceremonial products: some products used as cosmetics or in religious ceremonies have contained lead.
Products CDC names
- Ba-baw-san: a Chinese herbal remedy that contains lead, used to treat colic pain or to pacify young children (named only in romanized form on the page).
- Daw Tway: a digestive aid used in Thailand and Myanmar (Burma); samples contained up to 970 ppm of lead.
- Greta and Azarcon: Hispanic traditional medicines (also called alarcon, coral, luiga, maria luisa or rueda) for upset stomach, constipation, diarrhea and vomiting, also used on teething babies; these fine orange powders have contained up to 90% lead.
- Ghasard: an Indian folk medicine, a brown powder used as a tonic.
- Kajal (also called kohl or surma): an eye-care product used in parts of Africa and the Middle East that may contain high levels of lead.
- Sindoor: a red powder that Hindu and some Sikh women traditionally wear in their hair parting to show they are married; it isn’t meant to be food, but it might be used as a food additive, and children and adults have been highly exposed by eating it; testing of the Swad brand found lead levels sometimes as high as 87%.
If you think your child was exposed
- Contact a health care provider: if you think your child was exposed to lead through food, candy, spices, cosmetics or traditional medicines, contact your child’s health care provider.
- A provider can help decide: health care providers can help decide whether a blood lead test is needed, and can also recommend next steps.
- No visible symptoms: most children and adults who are exposed to lead have no symptoms, and a blood lead test is the best way to tell whether a child has been exposed.
- Levels and effects: as blood lead levels increase, adverse effects from lead may also increase.
For which children are more likely to be exposed to lead and how to test, see Immigrant, Refugee Kids More Likely to Face Lead; Test Blood; for declaring food when entering the US, see Declare All Food at US Entry, Meat and Produce Face Limits.
What this article doesn’t cover
- Other products: the page names only the products listed in this article; this article doesn’t say whether unlisted products contain lead.
- Recall lists: FDA has recall and safety alert pages that this article didn’t review.
- Adults who were exposed: the page is about children, so this article doesn’t say whether adults should be tested.
FAQ
Can I use spices I brought from home?
CDC says certain spices imported from Vietnam, India, Syria and other countries have contained lead, and you can’t tell by looking or tasting; it is best to avoid the use of products that may contain lead.
The seller says there’s no lead. Can I trust that?
CDC says people selling these products may not know whether they contain lead, and only laboratory testing can confirm it.
My child ate some but seems fine.
CDC says most children exposed to lead have no symptoms; if you think your child was exposed, contact your child’s health care provider, who can help decide whether a blood lead test is needed.
Does CDC name any Chinese medicine?
Yes. CDC names Ba-baw-san, a Chinese herbal remedy that contains lead, used to treat colic pain or to pacify young children.
Sources and date checked
All checked on 2026-11-01.
- CDC, About Lead in Foods, Cosmetics, and Medicines (page updated 2025-08-20):https://www.cdc.gov/lead-prevention/prevention/foods-cosmetics-medicines.html