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

(www.npr.org)
351 points perihelions | 3 comments | 11 Jul 25 15:33 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | 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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zargon ◴[11 Jul 25 17:27 UTC] No.44534853[source]▶
Burlap and Barrel tests their turmeric for lead and publishes the results. It’s a lot more expensive than Indian store turmeric, but personally I’m no longer willing to buy untested turmeric.

(Relatedly, Lundberg publishes the arsenic levels of their brown rice, so that’s basically the only brand of rice I buy any more.)

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1. markhahn ◴[11 Jul 25 19:34 UTC] No.44536069[source]▶
isn't arsenic in rice trivial to deal with ("pasta" method)?
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2. zargon ◴[11 Jul 25 22:52 UTC] No.44537585[source]▶
I wouldn’t call it trivial, no. Pre-boiling it only removes about 50% of the arsenic. If you start with US rice from arsenic-poisoned soils, after boiling the rice you can still have more arsenic in it than rice that had lower levels to start with (even when cooked traditionally).
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3. fpoling ◴[11 Jul 25 23:27 UTC] No.44537845[source]▶
One needs both to soak rice for at least 8 hours and boil it in excessive water to remove arsenic.