Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024) • Hacker News Board

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#91

Post by rayiner » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:45 PM UTC

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

Of course they know. But human life has very little value in Bangladesh. You’re socialized to desensitize yourself to it.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#92

Post by markhahn » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

SoftTalker wrote: post #61

downrightmike wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FDA and USDA are supposed to do that. It has to be government lead, because we know business will cheat

But government won't cheat?

Yes, that is correct. At least in the west, governments are actually filled with quite earnest, diligent people, not cheating. It's possible to find narrow cases where industry manages to bias government, but it's not like "ignore the lead in this turmeric".

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#93

Post by abeppu » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:46 PM UTC

phendrenad2 wrote: post #57

I think this NPR article is too quick to put a positive spin on this. They have made a nice little story here with a happy ending. Farmers had blackened turmeric -> they used a random yellow die they found -> massive lead spike in everyone's bloodstream -> Americans came in with a xray gun and saved the day -> no more lead in the blood. But if you ascribe even the slightest but of agency to any of the non-Americans i…

> But if you ascribe even the slightest but of agency to any of the non-Americans involved, you have to wonder if this problem will come back.

From the article:

> And recently they are celebrating some big news on the lead fighting front: This week, UNICEF and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a new $150 million initiative to combat lead poisoning.

Americans have disassembled USAID. The agency of Americans is also contributing to this reccuring.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#94

Post by markhahn » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

prairieroadent wrote: post #66

SoftTalker wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But government won't cheat?

yeah, it seems people don't realize the level of corruption that exists in this country... middle management is a workaround for miseducation

not sure which country "this" is, but corruption (taking bribes for harm) is quite uncommon in the US, Canada, Europe, etc.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#95

Post by londons_explore » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:48 PM UTC

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

Heavy metals are so easy and cheap to test for that every distributor should be testing every batch, and calling the police if contamination is detected.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#96

Post by offnominal » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

I quite enjoyed it. You're in a different part of the world and only have access to lead level data from your local population. You spot an anomaly in a cultural subgroup. Then through extensive guesswork you pinpoint a cause to a specific additive to a spice often consumed by folks in this culture. I would say that qualifies as a detective story.

But anyway, lead chromate is not a pesticide. The level of harm from pesticides containing heavy metals vs lead chromate is different. You're probably much much less likely to see lead poisoning levels in your blood just by consuming food treated only with pesticides.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#97

Post by kragen » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:51 PM UTC

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

This isn't about pesticides, and it isn't about not knowing about turmeric; it's about lead chromate, which is not a pesticide, but a pigment, and is not normally a part of turmeric. Moreover, though some of the contaminated turmeric was contaminated by mega-corporations, much of it was not.

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#98

Post by padjo » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:52 PM UTC

prairieroadent wrote: post #64

padjo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So rather than have government do the testing and holding producers to account we get every consumer to do it? That sounds pretty inefficient.

I imagine that in a competitive market where the participants are educated that the farmers would publish tests alongside their crop and the educated consumer would understand that they should be buying direct from farmers and be processing the turmeric themselves

Great, and how do we know the test results they publish are accurate?

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#99

Post by kragen » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:52 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #91

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

Of course they know. But human life has very little value in Bangladesh. You’re socialized to desensitize yourself to it.

Your family is from Bangladesh, aren't they?

Re: Lead pigment in turmeric is the culprit in a global poisoning mystery (2024)

#100

Post by kragen » Fri, Jul 11, 2025, 7:53 PM UTC

londons_explore wrote: post #95

infinitifall wrote: post #71

I'm put off by how this is framed as a detective story. Pesticides that contain heavy metals and other carcinogens are a well known issue, with India (and South Asia more generally) being the worst affected. > You'll never guess the culprit Not knowing about turmeric comes off as deeply ignorant when a billion people consume it as part of their daily diet. > They don't know that this is harmful for human health Let m…

Heavy metals are so easy and cheap to test for that every distributor should be testing every batch, and calling the police if contamination is detected.

The X-ray fluorescence tests used in the market spectacle described in the article are very cheap and easy, but they require equipment that is very expensive from the perspective of your average Bangladesh greengrocer. There are other easy and cheap tests for heavy metals that don't require such expensive equipment, but they only work if the metal ions are water-soluble, which lead chromate isn't.