Some Imported Hot Sauces from Mexico Have High Lead Levels

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Some Imported Hot Sauces from Mexico Have High Lead Levels

Study Finds Dangerous Levels of Lead in Hot Sauces From Mexico
Story from NBC Los Angeles - Jul 24, 2013
http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Study-Finds-Dangerous-Levels-of-Lead-in-Hot-Sauces-From-Mexico-216629201.html

Four of the 25 sauces studied contained more than the FDA’s standard for lead in food

University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) researchers tested 25 bottles of hot sauce imported from Mexico and South America. The products were bought in the U.S. at ethnic markets and grocery stores. Four bottles, or 16% of the sample, exceeded U.S. Food and Drug Administration standard for safe levels of lead. The product packaging was also tested because lead in packaging has been known to leach into food.

The four brands of Hot Sauce from Mexico with high lead levels were:

[i]-El Pato - Salsa Picante

-El Yucateco - Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero

-Castillo - Salsa Habanera

-Bufalo - Salsa Clasica[/i]

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I had 2 of those 4 brands in my fridge, Salsa Picante de Chile Habanero and Bufalo Salsa Clasica. They just went in the trash.

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This may even be worse than stated in the story. This is what UNLV found with one test. Since it’s totally unregulated why should we expect those numbers to always be the case? They could be much lower sometimes and maybe much higher at other times. Without regular quality control, which seems to be lacking, who knows what we were ingesting?