Traditional and religious spices have long been part of the Indian culture, but new research shows that these could be particularly harmful to young children, with some containing very high levels of lead.
The study was conducted between 2006 and 2008, and studied patients at the Pediatric Environmental Health Care Centre at Children’s Hospital in Boston who had ingested or been exposed to Indian spices and powders. It was found that some of the powders used in traditional rituals contained between 47% and 64% lead, which generally came from the dyes used to color the spices. Of the 71 powders tested, 46 contained almost 41 micrograms per gram of lead. According to the FDA, 6 micrograms per gram is the tolerable limit per day for kids under the age of 6.
In their study, the researchers cited four infants with lead poisoning – three were directly linked to the powders after their parents had either used the powders in their food or rubbed it onto their skin since they were born.
“Although the powders are not meant for consumption, we speculate that infants may be inadvertently exposed by hand-to-mouth transference of topically applied powders or by the hands of parents who handle the powders or who prepare food for the infant,” said the study’s lead co-author Dr Cristiane Gurgel Lin.
The main spices that were found to be the dangerous culprits were sindoor (also known as kumkum for which an alert has already been issued to not ingest or use topically), tamarindo, tumeric and lozeena.
Tags: Health Dangers, SpicesRelated posts
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