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Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

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Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#61

Post by klipt »

UberFly wrote: post #14
CoastalCoder wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yikes. Are their any trustworthy, mainstream sources of spices in the U.S.? E.g., if I buy turmeric from Walmart or Whole Foods, can I safely assume that they're monitoring the product streams for lead? EDIT: I just saw a sibling comment about a company named "American Turmeric". I'm curious about more mainstream sellers, who might possibly monitor other spices as well. I'd prefer to not play whack-a-mole on a spice-…

After reading that article I personally won't trust any I buy from anywhere unless it's from a reputable source and actually states that it's tested/lead-free. Yikes.

"Lead free" may be impossible, there is natural levels of lead in the soil that is taken up by plants.

However there's orders of magnitude difference between those natural levels, and adulterated spices with lead deliberately added for coloring.

Try googling the lead content of an average carrot, for example.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#62

Post by maximinus_thrax »

perihelions wrote: post #46
natdempk wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a stock photo used on a website, did you expect them to go to the actual laboratory they worked with and take one? I have no affiliation here, but they even listed the company they used for testing so presumably you could call/email them if you want further confirmation. None of this seems unreasonable to me, and I don't think a stock photo is a gotcha for product quality.

There's a lack of forthrightness in publishing a stock photo without a disclaimer. "Lack of forthrightness" is an anti-signal. Stock photography on a commercial website is an anti-signal.

> Stock photography on a commercial website is an anti-signal

Where do you expect stock photography to be used? Only in mock-ups and design pitches?

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#63

Post by WirelessGigabit »

TheRealPomax wrote: post #38

tl;dr: Color matters to turmeric purchasers, and turmeric that is more vibrantly yellow typically sells for higher prices. The Stanford University team learned that this color-linked perception of quality may have started in the 1980s, when a flood interrupted the drying process, turning rhizomes brown and moldy. To mask flawed turmeric, some processors began dusting the roots with lead chromate — an orange-yellow in…

China? Grass paint is booming business in SoCal. All because they don't realize they live in a desert. People bash on Arizona for spending water when it's super dry but take a look at Southern AZ lawns vs SoCal lawns. The Southern AZ ones are much more adept to the desert.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#65

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

perihelions wrote: post #40
CoastalCoder wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yikes. Are their any trustworthy, mainstream sources of spices in the U.S.? E.g., if I buy turmeric from Walmart or Whole Foods, can I safely assume that they're monitoring the product streams for lead? EDIT: I just saw a sibling comment about a company named "American Turmeric". I'm curious about more mainstream sellers, who might possibly monitor other spices as well. I'd prefer to not play whack-a-mole on a spice-…

- "E.g., if I buy turmeric from Walmart or Whole Foods, can I safely assume that they're monitoring the product streams for lead?" You can safely assume absolutely nothing. https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/your-herb... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29375003 ( "Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead (consumerreports.org)" ) (2021) - "The lack of regulation leaves much of the…

ConsumerLab tested many brands of both spice and supplement for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, and published the amounts they found in each brand:

https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/turmeric-curcumin-supple...

Paywall

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#66

Post by londons_explore »

MathMonkeyMan wrote: post #2

> To mask flawed turmeric, some processors began dusting the roots with lead chromate — an orange-yellow industrial pigment used to color plastics and furniture.

I don't really want lead in my plastic or my furniture either...

In fact, I think there would be a good case for simply banning all mining of lead. Nearly all remaining uses of it (bullets, roof flashing, counterweights, car batteries) seem to still have a pretty high risk of contamination of either the environment or the workers who make or recycle products.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#67

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

elzbardico wrote: post #58
camgunz wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah! I read this maybe a couple years ago and now lead test anything w/ turmeric in it (tea, actual turmeric, etc.) Haven't come up positive yet though, thank goodness. Can recommend just lead testing things. Test kits are cheap, it's very easy to do, you really want to know if you're eating/drinking lead (especially if you have kids). Also can recommend getting a water filter. It doesn't really fix dishwashing but…

Where can I find those test kits?

Amazon. There are even strips. Now can we trust the manufacturer of the tests themselves given amazons sometimes shitty vendor quality? Who knows.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#68

Post by londons_explore »

natdempk wrote: post #44
perihelions wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They expect us to be swayed by a stock photo of a laboratory? https://www.americanturmeric.com/how-we-test-our-turmeric ( "Laboratory Results - Buy With Confidence" ) https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-laboratory-image24729... ( "Royalty-Free Stock Photo: Laboratory with many operated science instrument [sic] and computer ")

It's a stock photo used on a website, did you expect them to go to the actual laboratory they worked with and take one? I have no affiliation here, but they even listed the company they used for testing so presumably you could call/email them if you want further confirmation. None of this seems unreasonable to me, and I don't think a stock photo is a gotcha for product quality.

Many online sellers post a photo of their factories and workers as a way to demonstrate quality - ie. "look, we make out products with big expensive modern machines, not children doing it by hand". Some aliexpress sellers even post 20-30 pictures of different parts of the production process.

Posting a stock photo is trying to defraud buyers who expect to see the factory it is made in.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#69

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

natdempk wrote: post #9
CoastalCoder wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yikes. Are their any trustworthy, mainstream sources of spices in the U.S.? E.g., if I buy turmeric from Walmart or Whole Foods, can I safely assume that they're monitoring the product streams for lead? EDIT: I just saw a sibling comment about a company named "American Turmeric". I'm curious about more mainstream sellers, who might possibly monitor other spices as well. I'd prefer to not play whack-a-mole on a spice-…

Yeah I've also been wondering this. Would love it if anyone has similar knowledge, especially about other spices beyond Tumeric.

I posted this above. ConsumerLab does this testing on all sorts of products and foods. They are a non-profit. The annual fee you pay supports the research and testing directly.

They tested many brands of both spice and supplement for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, and published the amounts they found in each brand:

https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews/turmeric-curcumin-supple...

Of great importance lately was their discovery of benzene in many common sunscreens which forced many product recalls. I used their findings to change brands for my entire family.

Re: Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

#70

Post by Tozen »

literalAardvark wrote: post #49
SideburnsOfDoom wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lead Chromate, not Lead. But apparently it's also not very soluble in water, so the question about sinking stands. Possibly, a chemical powder is much finer than a ground-up plant matter, and takes longer to settle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lead(II)_chromate#Safety_hazar...

I've actually had a successful test with the water method. The lead coloring shows immediately and remains dissolved or in suspension or whatever for days, possibly forever. Turmeric doesn't usually color water at all.

There are youtube videos showing how to do the turmeric test with water. Definitely, everyone that uses it, should know this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXWPf0HQd5U

(Testing Turmeric Powder adulteration with Artificial Color)

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