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

(www.npr.org)
351 points perihelions | 5 comments | 11 Jul 25 15:33 UTC | HN request time: 0.223s | source
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vasusen ◴[11 Jul 25 16:42 UTC] No.44534256[source]▶
I grew up in India and now live in the US. My mom recently got some ground turmeric from our own farm when she visited us. I am was stunned by how much more duller, brownish-yellow it was compared to the turmeric I buy in Indian stores in the US. Those are usually really bright yellows.

Now, I am really scared that even stuff sold in California is probably lead paint tainted turmeric.

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genewitch ◴[11 Jul 25 16:56 UTC] No.44534455[source]▶
article says "you can't tell when it's ground" - that is, specifically, they put lead chromate in the "buff" stage, so the roots look like they were dried properly.

In the same way that a lot of apples and the like will be buffed and then a soft wax coat applied so lots of apples are very shiny at the store.

if the turmeric is ground before sale i doubt there's any reason to use lead chromate.

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1. ashwinsundar ◴[11 Jul 25 17:06 UTC] No.44534587[source]▶
No I think the opposite conclusion is correct - turmeric starts out whole, and can be either ground down at that point or dried and sold whole. In the whole state, it's much easier to detect that lead chromate was applied.

If the turmeric is ground before sale, it's even easier to apply lead chromate and make the whole version "appear" healthier to the next processor who grinds it down and then sells the powder. If you buy it whole, then you can more easily see the color of the original root.

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2. genewitch ◴[11 Jul 25 17:10 UTC] No.44534640[source]▶
Then why isn't this an issue in Bharat, as mentioned in the article?
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3. ashwinsundar ◴[11 Jul 25 17:19 UTC] No.44534757[source]▶
I don't know why you're obsessed with whether India has the same problem. Maybe it hasn't been studied as extensively, or the turmeric there is healthier and hence doesn't need to be colored, or something else. Also the article doesn't say that India doesn't have this problem.
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4. genewitch ◴[11 Jul 25 17:23 UTC] No.44534801{3}[source]▶
Oh i missed "Dhaka" in the sentence after the one that said lead was found in spices in india, my brain saw "[...] spices in india, [...] despite lead free turmeric"

sorry, that's my mistake.

5. yread ◴[11 Jul 25 17:40 UTC] No.44535002[source]▶
Of course it is an issue. The government has a page to detect adulteration

https://eatrightindia.gov.in/dart/