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People remember many things about Windows 95, which turned 30 a couple of months ago. There were its signature new features, such as the Start Button, taskbar, and long file names. The launch eventhosted by Jay Lenoat Microsofts campus. The TV commercials with the Rolling Stones Start Me Up. The crowds of PC users so eager to get their hands on the upgrade that they descended on computer stores at midnight. Heres a fact about Windows 95 that isnt exactly iconic: It was the first voice-enabled version of Microsofts operating system. A collection of technologies known as the Microsoft Speech API (SAPI) provided support for speech recognition and synthesis, letting developers create apps that could speak and be spoken to. But SAPI didnt go on to revolutionize how people used Microsoft products. Neither did any of the numerous other voice-centric technologies it has developed over the decades, such as its 1990s Auto PC car platform and the ill-fated Siri counterpart Cortana. It’s kind of amazing to think about it, really, muses Microsoft executive VP and consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi. It’s probably been 30, 40 years since there was a new input mechanism for your PC. We had the keyboard, and then we introduced the mouse. There has not been another input mechanism. Like many of the people presently charting a future for Windows, Mehdi has seen much of that history firsthand as a Microsoft employee34 years of it, in his case. And though hes glossing over touchscreens and stylusesboth of which are part of Microsofts own Surface line and have their devoteeshis overarching point stands. For all the ways Windows has evolved, the basic means of interacting with it have remained enduringly resistant to change. Microsoft executive VP and consumer CMO Yusuf Mehdi [Photo: Courtesy of Microsoft] Once again, Microsoft is trying to overcome that. The company is announcing a Windows 11 update that lets you seek help from its Copilot AI by talking to it, with the response also coming in spoken form. Known as Copilot Voice, the feature leverages Copilot Vision, a technologyfirst previewed a year agothat can scan the contents of your screen to suss out what youre working on, whether youre perusing a social media feed in your browser, crafting a business proposal in Word, or studying for an exam. If voice input and output provide the interface for this new Windows experience, Copilot Vision is the glue that holds it together. It doesn’t require Copilot to have programmatic understanding of every app in the world, says Pavan Davuluri, Microsofts president of Windows + Devices, who will soon mark his 25th anniversary at the company. It just sees what you allow it to see and infers the world. It helps you with the task that you’re probably engaged in at that point in time. Generative AIincluding technologies Microsoft gets from its partner OpenAImakes that possible. As corporate VP of Windows experiences (and 24-year Microsoft veteransee a pattern here?) Navjot Virk puts it, The point is not just that you can talk to your PC, the point is that the PC now understands you. But making AI make sense in Windows is only partially about the technology performing as promised. In a world full of AI features that can feel like needy, uninvited distractions, Microsoft wanted this one to be welcome. Users must explicitly opt into Copilot Voice and Copilot Vision and use the wake word Hey Copilot to summon them. And even then, theyre designed to be unobtrusive complements to the familiar keyboard-and-mouse experience. [Image: Courtesy of Microsoft] People know what they want to do, says Virk. We should make sure we get out of their way, but give them the tools that they will use. Thats a sharply different vision from the one Microsoft rolled out at a May 2024 event with the lofty tagline A new AI era begins. The era in question involved a new class of laptop, called Copilot+ PCs, that packed powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon chips. Yet they were short on AI-related features compelling enough to justify buying a new computer. This time, Microsoft is concentrating on making AI available and appealing to all Windows 11 users, regardless of the machine theyve got. The question the company asked itself, Mehdi says, is What does a real AI PC look like in this next phase? In some ways, its answers are utterly straightforward. Even so, putting the real in real AI PC will keep it busy for years. The ultimate AI proving ground For all its mundane workaday ubiquity, Windows is a demanding proving ground for AI. According to Microsoft, the operating system is currently running on 1.6 billion devices, a figure that includes both Windows 11 and the theoretically moribund Windows 10. Sure, some of its users are early adopters eager to be wowed by the latest technology, even in imperfect form. But many more just want Windows to be a reliable, surprise-free tool to accomplish daily tasks. Their bar for finding AI palatable isnt lower than that of the enthusiastsits higher. Those 1.6 billion devices also reflect an endless array of manufacturers, models, and configurationsa formidable challenge when it comes to deploying a voice interface that consistently works well. Not that long ago, PC-based voice-controlled assistants tended to interrupt themselves and otherwise fail to engage with the world in ways that were fluid and natural, notes Microsoft technical fellow Stevie Bathiche (26 years at the company). That’s because [they] didn’t have a high-quality audio pipeline, he says. Now that’s solved. Microsoft president of Windows + Devices Pavan Davuluri [Image: Courtesy of Microsoft] Microsofts solution borrows from work it originally did for Cortana and Teams and involves technologies such as beam forming, which help a PC block out irrelevant ambient noise. That helps even with basic Copilot Voice features that dont sound like huge deals in themselves: the Hey Copilot wake word and ability to say Goodbye to conclude an AI session. But the most challenging part was what came in between: getting the AI to correctly handle everyday tasks as users might phrase them, regardless of their degree of AI savvy. With consumer AI in its typical current form, If you know how to craft that perfect prompt and go into super detail, you can get a lot of bang out of it, says Virk. But how do we make this superpower accessible to every single user of Windows? In several demos, the company showed me Copilot responding to briefly expressed spoken requests. In one, it explained how to disentangle multiple Spotify listeners data so the services year-end Wrapped summary wouldnt be a meaningless mishmash. It also made style suggestions based on a Pinterest feed, defined physics concepts mentioned in class notes, and did the math to adjust the ingredients in a handwritten recipe to produce a larger batch. The closest it got to showing off was when it aided a songwriting example by humming a funk riff in G minor. All of this emphasizes the simple, practical, and broadly applicable. One reason why: The stinging reaction to Windows Recall, a feature Microsoft announced at its May 2024 event. By capturing an ongoing stream of screenshots, Recall gave the operating system a memory. The idea was that users would find value in AI being able to scour their past activity in intimate detail. But the technology was invasive, turned on by default, and unencrypted. After critics called it a privacy nightmare, Microsoft took Recall back to the drawing board and didnt release it for almost a year. Naturally, the company now says it regards the whole kerfuffle as a teachable moment. We have taken those learnings and really applied them and internalized them to everything new that we have, says Virk. First and foremost, the discussion that happens on the team is, How will somebody understand the value of this? Will they be comfortable? Will they feel like they have control? Do they always know what is happening? Transparency is an important core tenet for our experiences. Only some of those experiences are rolling out to all Windows 11 users immediately. Additional ones will be available in test form to users who subscribe to the Windows Insider early-access program. Those include features called Connectors that hook Copilot into apps such as Outlook and OneDrive, giving it far more access to your data than Copilot Vision can divine by analyzing the screen. (Yes, Microsoft says Connectors will be available to third-party developers, too.) Connectors are crucial to Copilot starting to get more agenticable to perform complex tasks on the users behalf with some measure of autonomy. Other purveyors of AI are developing similar technologies. For example, OpenAI already has a ChatGPT agent (known as Agent) and integrations (also called Connectors). By building this sort of AI directly into Windows, which already serves as a hub for so many peoples work, Microsoft has the opportunity to make it particularly powerful. But as AI works more independently and gains access to additional data, the potential for security and privacy issues rises. Chastened by its Recall misfire, Microsoft emphasizes that its agent-related features are opt-in and engineered to receive only the access they need. Even before these features reach general availability, Windows is using multiple AI models in an agentic manner below the surface. As the operating system responds to a users request, The big model creates the plan and the reasoning behind it, explains Bathiche. It says, You do this, do this, do this. The small model is tuned to essentially say, Yeah, let me take that instruction and translate it to what that actually means on the screen. That division of labor hints at a future when Windows, and computing in general, get atomized into bits of software negotiating with each othera scenario thats been predicted for decades and is only now going beyond the theoretical. Windows Insider members will also be the first to gain access to Ask Copilot, a new feature that puts Copilot directly on the taskbar, allowing them to initiate a typed AI session without firing up the existing Copilot app. Like Hey, Copilot, that may not sound like a huge whoop. But its key to Microsofts long-term goal of letting Windows call on AI in whatever way they prefer at any given moment. You can get going with Copilot straight out of the gate, says Davuluri. And it can be chat, it can be voice, it can be vision. It can be any combination of them. The road to Jarvis Ultimately, its impossible to ponder Windows future except in the context of its first 40 years. The graphical computing environmentnot yet a full-blown operating systemshipped in 1985 and struggled at first. Only with 1990s Windows 3.0 did it become a hit. Then new trends, such as multimedia and the web, only strengthened its position. In recent years, Windowsfor all the enormity of its user basehas maintained a low profile. Indeed, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is justly admired for reimagining the company for an age that doesnt revolve around Windows or any other desktop operating system. Had it clung to its past rather than broadened its horizons, it likely wouldnt be the worlds second most valuable company today. Could voice and AI put Windows back in the spotlight? Mehdi doesnt mention Apples recent travails in AI, but hes clear that he sees an opportunity for Microsoft to bound forward more quickly than its eternal competitor. Were going to have an open window, he says. And Apple is not going to be in this window for quite some time. Thinking ahead over the next decade, Mehdi told me, Microsoft would love to turn Copilot into the real-world equivalent of Tony Starks ultracapable AI butler Jarvis. Still, he and the Microsoft executives I talked to mostly kept the hype in check. None of them suggested that voice might totally supersede todays graphical interface in the way Windows once replaced MS-DOSs text-based command line. Microsoft Jarvis, should it come to exist, will likely still support keyboard and mouse inputjust like Windows 1.0. We think this is the next interface because it’s additive, stresses corporate VP of design and research for Windows + Devices Marcus Ash, who has been at Microsoft since 1999 (not counting a brief detour at Stripe) and was part of the team that created Cortana. It gives you more things that you can do. But you can also go back to the way that you use things if that’s comfortable for you. Which is not to say Microsoft wont make every effort to make the case for Windows latest attempt to bake in voice technology. That undertaking will include a TV campaign showing the new features in action. We’ve not advertised Windows in that kind of fashion in a while, says Mehdi. So we do have confidence in what we’ve got here. Once upon a time, Microsoft signaled that a Windows update mattered by rebranding it: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7. Not this time. Four-year-old Windows 11 is still Windows 11additional evidence the company is trying to err on the side of underselling what its created. Historically, weve changed names, says Mehdi. Pavan and I were like, Shoot, should we have [called it] Windows 12 or Windows 20 or something? We didn’t even think about it. We were spending our whole time working on the product. But it has that magnitude. And it’s obviously all with the backdrop of what’s happening in the world of AI. If this new voice-enabled operating system wins hearts, it will be because its benefits speak for themselves.
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E-Commerce
Protein powders are notoriously hit-or-miss when it comes to taste. But according to a new study from Consumer Reports (CR), gym bros and casual proteinmaxxers should be less concerned with how their protein powders taste, and more concerned about whether they might contain lead. The study, published on October 14, tested 23 of the most popular protein powders and ready-to-drink shakes for heavy metal contamination. CR purchased multiple samples of each product, including two to four distinct lots, over a three-month period beginning in November of 2024. The samples were then tested for protein, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and other elements. The results were striking: More than two-thirds of the products analyzed contained more lead in a single serving than the amount that CRs food safety experts say is safe to consume in a day. CRs report noted that theres no reason to panic if readers have been consuming these products, as theyre unlikely to cause immediate harm. However, protein companies are pushing back against the results, arguing that the report is alarmist. Heres what to know: What did Consumer Reports find? CRs report is structured around a daily threshold of allowable lead consumption, which its researchers set at 0.5 micrograms. This figure is based on the California Prop 65 maximum, which, the publication notes, has a wide safety margin built in. In comparison, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not have any official guidelines on dietary lead limits, it has set an estimated benchmark for safe daily consumption, which is 2.2 micrograms for children and 8.8 micrograms for women of childbearing age. (An FDA spokesperson told CR that the 8.8 figure can likely be applied to all adults). To be clear, no amount of lead is technically okay to consume, with even low levels potentially causing serious health problems. According to CRs report, the most concerning products were all plant-based protein powders, which, on average, contained lead levels that were nine times the amount found in those made with dairy proteins and twice as great as beef-based ones. Topping out CRs list was Naked Nutritions Vegan Mass Gainer. For a serving size of 315 grams, CR found that the powder continued 1,572% of its daily lead consumption threshold, or about 7.7 micrograms per serving. Following that product was Huels Black Edition powder, which contained 6.3 micrograms of lead in a 90 gram serving, and Garden of Lifes Sport Organic Plant-Based Protein, which contained 2.76 micrograms in a 45 gram serving. How have protein powder companies responded? In a statement to Fast Company, Naked Nutrition said it was important to note that Naked Vegan Mass Gainer was the only vegan weight gainer in the study, meaning it had a much larger serving size compared to the other powders tested. When viewed on a per-gram basis, the company added, results are consistent with other plant-based proteins. Elements such as lead are naturally occurring in soil, a spokesperson said. Because plants naturally absorb minerals and elements from soil, trace levels of heavy metals can be found in virtually all plant-derived foods and proteins, even in certified organic products, regardless of brand or country of origin. While Consumer Reports did not share its complete lab data, we reviewed the available information and verified results through independent third-party testing, which confirmed that no heavy metals exceeded FDA reference intake levels for adults, including for sensitive groups such as women of childbearing age. A spokesperson for Huel, which published its own article in response to CRs study, told Fast Company that it is extremely frustrated by the report and views it as alarmist. The brand added that California’s 0.5 microgram threshold is ultra conservative” because it divides the observable effect limit by 1,000 to allow a margin for error. For comparison, the EU benchmark is 270 micrograms per serving. It is important to understand that the Consumer Reports approach reflects a uniquely cautious regulation rather than an internationally accepted measure of consumer safety,” the spokesperson said. “Trace minerals such as lead occur naturally in crops because plants absorb them from the soil. For context, Huel added, a meal of sausages, potatoes, cabbage, and carrots can contain around 5 micrograms of lead, and most adults consume between 20 and 80 micrograms per day from normal foods. Huel is no different from everyday meals in this respect. Huels spokesperson added that it has conducted 17 independent tests on Huel Black Edition, with results consistently showing lead levels between 1.5 and 2.2 micrograms per 90 gram serving. Garden of Life did not immediately respond to Fast Companys request for comment, but a spokesperson for the company told CR that its products are safe for daily use despite CRs recommended limits.
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E-Commerce
Senate Democrats are poised for the 10th time Thursday to reject a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits.The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become as it has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor. House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed.“Every day that goes by, there are more and more Americans who are getting smaller and smaller paychecks,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, adding that there have been thousands of flight delays across the country as well.Thune, a South Dakota Republican, again and again has tried to pressure Democrats to break from their strategy of voting against the stopgap funding bill. It hasn’t worked. And while some bipartisan talks have been ongoing about potential compromises on health care, they haven’t produced any meaningful progress toward reopening the government.Democrats say they won’t budge until they get a guarantee on extending subsidies for health plans offered under Affordable Care Act marketplaces. They warned that millions of Americans who buy their own health insurance such as small business owners, farmers and contractors will see large increases when premium prices go out in the coming weeks. Looking ahead to a Nov. 1 deadline in most states, they think voters will demand that Republicans enter into serious negotiations.“We have to do something, and right now, Republicans are letting these tax credits expire,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.Still, Thune was also trying a different tack Thursday with a vote to proceed to appropriations bills a move that could grease the Senate’s wheels into some action or just deepen the divide between the two parties. A deadline for subsidies on health plans Democrats have rallied around their priorities on health care as they hold out against voting for a Republican bill that would reopen the government. Yet they also warn that the time to strike a deal to prevent large increases for many health plans is drawing short.When they controlled Congress during the pandemic, Democrats boosted subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans. It pushed enrollment under President Barack Obama’s signature health care law to new levels and drove the rate of uninsured people to a historic low. Nearly 24 million people currently get their health insurance from subsidized marketplaces, according to health care research nonprofit KFF.Democrats and some Republicans are worried that many of those people will forgo insurance if the price rises dramatically. While the tax credits don’t expire until next year, health insurers will soon send out notices of the price increases. In most states, they go out Nov. 1.Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she has heard from “families who are absolutely panicking about their premiums that are doubling.”“They are small business owners who are having to think about abandoning the job they love to get employer-sponsored health care elsewhere or just forgoing coverage altogether,” she added.Murray also said that if many people decide to leave their health plan, it could have an effect across medical insurance because the pool of people under health plans will shrink. That could result in higher prices across the board, she said.Some Republicans have acknowledged that the expiration of the tax credits could be a problem and floated potential compromises to address it, but there is hardly a consensus among the GOP.House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., this week called the COVID-era subsidies a “boondoggle,” adding that “when you subsidize the health care system and you pay insurance companies more, the prices increase.”President Donald Trump has said he would “like to see a deal done for great health care,” but has not meaningfully weighed into the debate. And Thune has insisted that Democrats first vote to reopen the government before entering any negotiations on health care.If Congress were to engage in negotiations on significant changes to health care, it would likely take weeks, if not longer, to work out a compromise. Votes on appropriations bills Meanwhile, Senate Republicans are setting up a vote Thursday to proceed to a bill to fund the Defense Department and several other areas of government. This would turn the Senate to Thune’s priority of working through spending bills and potentially pave the way to paying salaries for troops, though the House would eventually need to come back to Washington to vote for a final bill negotiated between the two chambers.Thune said it would be a step toward getting “the government funded in the traditional way, which is through the annual appropriations process.”It wasn’t clear whether Democrats would give the support needed to advance the bills. They discussed the idea at their luncheon Wednesday and emerged saying they wanted to review the Republican proposal and make sure it included appropriations that are priorities for them.While the votes will not bring the Senate any closer to an immediate fix for the government shutdown, it could at least turn their attention to issues where there is some bipartisan agreement. Stephen Groves and Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
Nestle will cut 16,000 jobs, new CEO Philipp Navratil said on Thursday, as the world’s largest packaged food company seeks to cut costs and win back investor confidence. The jobs being cut represent 5.8% of Nestle’s around 277,000 employees. Navratil said Nestle had raised its cost savings target to 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.77 billion) from 2.5 billion francs by the end of 2027. U.S. import tariffs are a headwind for Nestle, despite the bulk of the company’s U.S. sales being manufactured locally, while food producers across the board are grappling with fragile consumer confidence and changing habits as people seek to eat more healthily. “The world is changing, and Nestle needs to change faster,” Navratil said. UNPRECEDENTED MANAGEMENT TURMOIL Nestle, whose shares leapt by around 8% in early trading, has experienced an unprecedented period of managerial turmoil, with Navratil replacing Laurent Freixe, who was fired in September as chief executive over an undisclosed relationship with a direct report. Chairman Paul Bulcke then stepped down early to make way for former Inditex chief Pablo Isla two weeks later. Navratil said the 12,000 white-collar job cuts over the next two years, in addition to a further 4,000 headcount reduction as part of ongoing initiatives in manufacturing and the supply chain, were part of an efficiency push. ‘FUEL TO THE TURNAROUND FIRE’ The Swiss maker of KitKat chocolate bars, Nespresso coffee and Maggi seasoning has been fighting to reverse stalling sales growth and arrest a share price slide as it battles U.S. import tariffs, while costs have risen and debt levels have climbed, increasing pressure from investors. Nestle’s quarterly results “add fuel to the turnaround fire,” Bernstein analysts wrote in a note, naming the headcount reduction as a “significant surprise”. A 1.5% rise in real internal growth – a measure of sales volumes – in the third quarter, well above analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% rise, may offer Navratil breathing space as he looks to make his mark following his sudden promotion. Navratil said driving RIG-led growth was Nestle’s highest priority. “We are fostering a culture that embraces a performance mindset, that does not accept losing market share, and where winning is rewarded,” Navratil said. Strategic reviews of Nestle’s waters and premium beverages business and low-growth, low-margin vitamins and supplements brands are ongoing, the company said. NESTLE LEAVES 2025 GUIDANCE UNCHANGED The Swiss company maintained its 2025 outlook. It said organic sales growth should improve compared to 2024 and predicted the underlying trading operating profit margin, which excludes certain non-recurrent expenses, at, or above, 16%. For the medium-term, the forecast is at least 17%. The margin forecasts include the higher U.S. import tariffs on Swiss goods of 39%, that came into effect in August, Nestle said. The bulk of the 3 billion Swiss francs in cost savings is due to come in 2026-27, Nestle said, with 700 million Swiss francs in savings expected in 2025 as a whole. Organic sales, which exclude the impact of currency movement and acquisitions, rose 4.3% in the quarter, Nestle said, above analysts’ estimates for 3.7% growth. Quarterly sales growth was driven by pricing-led upticks in coffee and confectionery, but Greater China was a drag. CFO Anna Manz said Nestle had been too focused on driving distribution across China and not enough on building consumer demand. “So what you see in China is us correcting that and actually to consolidate our distribution and make it more efficient, while we build this consumer demand.” ($1 = 0.7955 Swiss francs) Alexander Marrow, Reuters
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E-Commerce
Who doesnt love a little cinnamon sprinkled on their toast or oatmeal? Unfortunately, lovers of the spice now have more things to worry about. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its list of ground cinnamon products to avoid over fears that they could contain elevated levels of lead. Heres what you need to know about the latest cinnamon products the FDA is warning consumers to avoid. Whats happened? On October 10, the FDA updated its ongoing list of ground cinnamon products that consumers should avoid due to fears that the products may contain elevated levels of lead, which could be harmful. The most recent updates to the list of products are just the latest additions to a list that the agency originally published in July 2024. Since then, the FDA has added additional products to the list five timestwo of those times being very recently, on October 8 and October 10. Upon publishing its original notice in 2024, the agency said that it had determined that the ground cinnamon products listed in the table below contain elevated levels of lead and that exposure to these products may be unsafe. These determinations were made after product testing by state programs that the FDA itself later confirmed. As a result of the findings, the FDA recommended that the firms involved should voluntarily recall the productsthe list of which has consistently grown. What cinnamon products should I avoid? As of the time of this writing, the FDA lists 16 different cinnamon products consumers should avoid due to fears of elevated levels of lead. Those products include: DistributorRetailer(s)Lot Code(s)Brand Name(s)Lead Concentration (ppm)Singh Trading Inc. DBA Roshni FoodsNone listedUPC code: 6251136 034139Best by date: BESTBY 020925Roshni2.268Haitai Inc. USANone listedUPC code: 6251136 034139Best by date: BESTBY 020925HAETAE4.60EUREKA INC. U.S.A.Recall AnnouncementDistributed to grocery stores in California and Michigan from 08/24/2024 to 10/6/2025Batch No.: 06 B:02 UPC code: 6251136 034139 Best by date: May 2026Durra2.44SLR Food Distribution, Inc Recall AnnouncementDistributed to retailers located (New Jersey, New York, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Ohio) between 02/15/2024 and 06/28/2025UPC code: 0 688474 302853Wise Wife2.49Spicy World of USATAJ SUPERMARKETAF-CINP/822 Best by date: Best Before: July 2025Jiva Organics2.29IHA Beverage, Commerce, CA IHA Beverage Issues a Voluntary Recall of Super Cinnamon Powder 4oz Because of Lead ContaminationAsian Supermarket, Little Rock, ARNone listedSuper Brand7.68 6.60Sands Impex Inc. Dba Asli Fine Foods Woodbridge, IL Asli Fine Foods . Recalls Asli Cinnamon Powder 7 oz Because of Possible Health RiskA&Y Global Market Columbia, MODDDLUS (Missouri)Asli2.32El Chilar Apopka, FL El Chilar HF, LLC. Expands Recall of El Chilar Ground Cinnamon Due to Elevated Levels of LeadEl Torito MarketD181EX0624 (Maryland) E054EX0225 (Maryland)El Chilar3.75 7.01Moran Foods, LLC Saint Ann, MO Colonna Brothers, Inc. Issues an Updated Voluntary Recall for Marcum & Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Because of Possible Health RiskSave-A-Lot Food Stores, Ltd.BEST BY: 12/05/25 12 D8 (Missouri) BEST BY: 12/05/25 12 D11 (Virginia)Marcum2.22 2.14Raja Foods LLC Skokie, ILPatel BrothersBatch No.: KX28223, Best Before October 2026 (Connecticut)SWAD2.89Greenbrier International, Inc. Chesapeake, VA Colonna Brothers, Inc. Issues an Updated Voluntary Recall for Marcum & Supreme Tradition Ground Cinnamon Because of Possible Health RiskDollar Tree10A11, BEST BY: 10/06/25 (California)Supreme Tradition2.37MAMTAKIM, Inc., Elizabeth, NJ (importer)EurogroceryExp and Lot: 08 2024 L1803231 (Connecticut)Compania Indillor Orientale2.23ALB-USA Enterprises Inc., Bronx, NY ALB-USA Enterprises Recalls ALB Flavor Ground Cinnamon Because of Possible Health RiskEurogroceryBest Before:30/08/2025 – LA02 (Connecticut)ALB Flavor3.93Advance Food International, Inc Advance Food International Inc. Recalls Shahzada Brand Cinnamon Powder 7oz Because of Possible Health RiskPremium SupermarketNone (New York)Shahzada2.03American Spices LLC, NY American Spices LLC. Recalls Spice Class Ground Cinnamon Because of Possible Health RiskFish WorldBest by: 12/2026 (New York)Spice Class2.04La Frontera ImportsFrutas Y Abarrotes Mexico, Inc.None (New York)La Frontera2.66 Images of the products can be found on the FDAs notice here. Has anyone been harmed by consuming the designated products? As of the time of this writing, no one is ye known to have been harmed by consuming the listed products, the FDA says. However, it can take months or years to see the negative health effects of elevated levels of lead in the body. Long-term exposure (months to years) to elevated levels of lead in the diet could contribute to adverse health effects, particularly for the portion of the population that may already have elevated blood lead levels from other exposures to lead, the agency warns in its notice. The FDA goes on to explain that the adverse health effects of consuming lead-contaminated food vary depending on a number of factors, including the age of the person, the volume and frequency of lead exposure, and more. The very young are particularly vulnerable to the potential harmful effects from lead exposure because of their smaller body sizes and rapid metabolism and growth, the agency warns. High levels of exposure to lead in utero, infancy, and early childhood can lead to neurological effects such as learning disabilities, behavior difficulties, and lowered IQ. What are the consequences of lead exposure? According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), exposure to lead in children can result in adverse effects, including: Damage to the brain and nervous system Slowed growth and development Learning and behavior problems Hearing and speech problems The CDC says this can lead to lower IQ, a decreased attention span ability, and underperformance in educational environments. Lead exposure in children is often difficult to see, the agency notes. Most children have no obvious immediate symptoms. If parents believe their children have been exposed to lead, they should talk to their child’s healthcare provider. What should I do if I have the listed cinnamon products? Ground cinnamon products last for years, which means consumers may have the products in their kitchen pantries and on their shelves, and may even have forgotten about themand so people may not use the products until far in the future when they suddenly need the spice for cooking or baking. But the FDA is warning consumers to check their homes now and discard any of the products on the list, warning that consumers should not eat, sell, or serve ground cinnamon products the agency has identified as potentially having elevated levels of lead.
Category:
E-Commerce
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