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Turmeric’s unexpected link to lead poisoning in Bangladesh

stanmed.stanford.edu

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

#4

Post by no_butterscotch »

I wonder if this turmeric spread and was sold in the West. My mother recently started taking "golden turmeric" and insists that it's a cure for a lot of ills. Maybe that's true I don't know, she sent me some articles a couple years ago. It was clear that she was influenced by Facebook groups.

Hopefully the turmeric she takes is safe :(

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

#5

Post by CoastalCoder »

Interesting article. One thing I'm left wondering though is: for the offending vendors, how aware were they of the potential harm they were causing?

IMHO the punishment should, in some sense, scale with that detail.

As a parent, if I found out that someone was knowingly poisoning my children for profit, I'd have some very uncharitable urges.

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

#6

Post by natdempk »

no_butterscotch wrote: post #4

I wonder if this turmeric spread and was sold in the West. My mother recently started taking "golden turmeric" and insists that it's a cure for a lot of ills. Maybe that's true I don't know, she sent me some articles a couple years ago. It was clear that she was influenced by Facebook groups. Hopefully the turmeric she takes is safe :(

If you want to be extra safe, you can buy some for her from a safer supplier like: https://www.americanturmeric.com/lead-free-turmeric

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

#7

Post by no_butterscotch »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #5

Interesting article. One thing I'm left wondering though is: for the offending vendors, how aware were they of the potential harm they were causing? IMHO the punishment should, in some sense, scale with that detail. As a parent, if I found out that someone was knowingly poisoning my children for profit, I'd have some very uncharitable urges.

I do wonder if some of the dirt poor street-vendors were "in on it" or just the fall-guys.

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

#8

Post by CoastalCoder »

natdempk wrote: post #3

See also "Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415259/ The problem with lead in tumeric seems to extend beyond Bangladesh.

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-by-spice basis.

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

#9

Post by natdempk »

CoastalCoder wrote: post #8
natdempk wrote: post #3

See also "Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States": https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5415259/ The problem with lead in tumeric seems to extend beyond Bangladesh.

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.
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