A popular kitchen spice Turmeric popularly known as Haldi, used every day is now found to be dangerous. A very shocking and disturbing new study found that turmeric—one of the most widely used spices in India and almost South Asia, contains shockingly high levels of lead in several cities across India, Pakistan, and Nepal. In some areas, lead in turmeric is more than 200 times higher than the safe limit set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which could seriously harm health, especially for children. How did this toxic substance get into turmeric? what risks does it bring to millions of families? How to identify lead in turmeric?
Article Highlights
Dangerous Lead Levels in Common Haldi/Turmeric
Lead in turmeric has been discovered at dangerous levels in samples from various South Asian cities. Researchers found that turmeric samples from cities like Patna and Karachi contained lead concentrations as high as 2,274 μg/g and 127 μg/g, respectively—well above the FSSAI limit of 10 μg/g. Such high levels of lead are dangerous for health, particularly for children, where even small amounts of lead exposure can impact brain development and intelligence.
Lead poisoning from contaminated turmeric could lead to serious health problems. Lead mimics calcium and is stored in bones, but it disrupts the body’s natural processes, leading to heart disease, kidney issues, and even affecting children’s IQ.
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Lead In Turmeric! How Big Is the Problem?
The researchers conducted tests on turmeric samples gathered from 23 cities across India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal over the period from December 2020 to March 2021. In their findings, 14% of turmeric samples had dangerously high lead levels. Surprisingly, the highest contamination was found in polished turmeric roots, which are often sold loose and may be less regulated. These loose products were more likely to be adulterated with lead chromate—a toxic yellow pigment used to make turmeric look brighter and more appealing.
Why Are Suppliers Adding Lead to Turmeric?
Lead chromate is an industrial pigment commonly used in paints, but some unscrupulous suppliers add it to turmeric to enhance colour, especially in low-quality products. This dangerous practice, first reported in Bangladesh in the 1980s, has been linked to lead poisoning in various countries, including the United States. Now, it appears the issue has spread to South Asia’s turmeric supply chain.
Impact of Lead on Children’s Health
Even small amounts of lead exposure can be harmful to children, impacting their IQ, behaviour, and learning capabilities. Global estimates indicate that approximately 815 million children have blood lead levels over 50 μg/L, and an alarming 413 million children have levels surpassing 100 μg/L. Since there’s no safe level of lead exposure, consuming lead-contaminated turmeric could be extremely harmful, especially for families who use turmeric regularly.
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How to Test Turmeric at Home for Lead Adulteration
According to Times Of India, in order to check for adulteration you can do a simple test in a few minutes at home. Take a glass jug filled with warm water, then add 1 teaspoon of Turmeric and let it settle down. If the Turmeric powder settles down at the bottom of the jug. Then the Turmeric is real, but if it ends up mixing with the water and turns dark yellow, then it’s time to discard it!
What Needs to Be Done?
With such a serious risk to public health, immediate action is necessary to trace and remove lead from turmeric. The researchers have urged further investigation into how lead chromate enters the supply chain and why suppliers continue this dangerous practice. The FSSAI already requires turmeric to be free of lead and other harmful additives, but stricter regulation and frequent testing may be needed to protect consumers.
Until these changes are made, consumers should be cautious, opting for branded turmeric whenever possible, as these products were found to have lower contamination levels than loose, polished roots.
This study is a wake-up call for India and all of South Asia. With turmeric being a dietary staple in millions of homes, urgent steps are needed to ensure its safety and protect public health.
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