Editing Turmeric (section)

==Adulteration==
As turmeric and other spices are commonly sold by weight, the potential exists for powders of toxic, cheaper agents with a similar color to be added, such as [[lead(II,IV) oxide]] ("red lead"). These additives give turmeric an orange-red color instead of its native gold-yellow, and such conditions led the US [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) to issue import alerts from 2013 to 2019 on turmeric originating in [[India]] and [[Bangladesh]].<ref name="cowell">{{cite journal |vauthors=Cowell W, Ireland T, Vorhees D, Heiger-Bernays W |title=Ground Turmeric as a Source of Lead Exposure in the United States |journal=Public Health Reports |volume=132 |issue=3 |pages=289–293 |date=2017 |pmid=28358991 |pmc=5415259 |doi=10.1177/0033354917700109}}</ref> Imported into the United States in 2014 were approximately {{convert|12|e6lb|e6kg|abbr=off|order=flip}} of turmeric, some of which was used for [[food coloring]], [[traditional medicine]], or [[dietary supplement]].<ref name=cowell/> Lead detection in turmeric products led to [[product recall|recalls]] across the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea, and the United Kingdom through 2016.<ref name=cowell/>

[[Lead chromate]], a bright yellow chemical compound, was found as an adulterant of turmeric in Bangladesh, where turmeric is used commonly in foods and the contamination levels were up to 500 times higher than the national limit.<ref name="Forsyth">{{cite journal | last1=Forsyth | first1=Jenna E. | last2=Nurunnahar | first2=Syeda | last3=Islam | first3=Sheikh Shariful | last4=Baker | first4=Musa | last5=Yeasmin | first5=Dalia | last6=Islam | first6=M. Saiful | last7=Rahman | first7=Mahbubur | last8=Fendorf | first8=Scott | last9=Ardoin | first9=Nicole M. | last10=Winch | first10=Peter J. | last11=Luby | first11=Stephen P. |display-authors=3| title=Turmeric means "yellow" in Bengali: Lead chromate pigments added to turmeric threaten public health across Bangladesh | journal=Environmental Research | volume=179 | issue=Pt A | year=2019 | issn=0013-9351 | doi=10.1016/j.envres.2019.108722 | page=108722|pmid=31550596| bibcode=2019ER....179j8722F | doi-access=free }}</ref> Researchers identified a chain of sources adulterating the turmeric with lead chromate: from farmers to merchants selling low-grade turmeric roots to "polishers" who added lead chromate for yellow color enhancement, to [[wholesale]]rs for market distribution, all unaware of the potential consequences of lead toxicity.<ref name=Forsyth/>

Another common adulterant in turmeric, [[metanil yellow]] (also known as acid yellow 36), is considered by the [[Great Britain|British]] [[Food Standards Agency]] as an illegal [[dye]] for use in foods.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/chemicals-in-food-safety-controls|title=Producing and distributing food – guidance: Chemicals in food: safety controls; Sudan dyes and industrial dyes not permitted in food|publisher= Government of the United Kingdom|date=8 October 2012|access-date=12 December 2015}}</ref>