A brand of inedible powders sold in Indian groceries and used in religious ceremonies has been recalled by its Skokie-based distributor after several people mistakenly ate and fell sick from one of the powders, which turned out to have high concentrations of lead.
Raja Foods LLC voluntarily recalled its 3.5-ounce packages of five SWAD brand powders — sindoor, abil, gulal, kanku and kum kum — and two ceremonial kits that carry the powders, Lagan Samagri Kit and Pooja Samagri Kit.
State health authorities discovered the lead problem after several people mistakenly ate sindoor, thinking it was a condiment.
Officials blamed confusing labeling: Although all the powder packages have labels on the back that read “non-edible,” it can be confusing because SWAD’s logo, “The Best Taste in Town,” may imply it can be used in food. The recalls, the latest one last week, come at a time when Illinois has been making a point of keeping consumers well-informed about products containing lead so that they can steer clear of them or properly dispose of them. One of the powders turned out to be 87 percent lead, a heavy metal that is especially harmful to children.
“This is extremely alarming. The lead content is really high,” said Cara Smith, deputy chief of staff to Illinois Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.
The recalled powders are used during sacred ceremonies, such as marriages and pujas (offerings to deities for blessings). Indian women traditionally put kum kum and sindoor, or vermilion, in the middle parting of their hair to indicate they are married.
Smith said they are struggling to find a way to alert South Asian consumers who might have purchased these powders years ago and still have them in their homes.
Consumers can call 888-414-7678 if they have questions about the recall, and bilingual staffers will be available.
Smith said the department is looking into testing more SWAD products.
In November, the Illinois Department of Public Health received calls from medical professionals treating people with symptoms comparable to lead poisoning, said Kimberly Parker, spokeswoman for the state health department.
An initial investigation revealed that SWAD’s sindoor might be reason why consumers were becoming ill, Parker said.
The department’s Food, Drugs & Dairy division tested sindoor samples and found that the powder was 87 percent lead. By comparison, toys that contain 0.06 percent lead are banned in Illinois.
In December, Raja Foods voluntarily recalled at least 280 SWAD sindoor packages.
The powders often are made of potentially toxic substances that do not pose a health threat if used properly but can be dangerous if ingested. The state public health agency reported sindoor poses a household threat because it could be ingested accidentally.
The department also confirmed that two consumers who mistakenly used sindoor as an ingredient in meals had elevated blood lead levels, the recall reported. Parker would not disclose whether the two consumers were from the Chicago area.
Parker encouraged consumers to return the product to the store for a full refund and to contact their physicians about potential elevated levels of lead in their blood if they had consumed it.
Last week, after additional testing by the state health department, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration sent out an alert that Raja Foods had voluntarily recalled four other SWAD powders and ceremonial kits that contained high lead levels. Lead can cause learning disabilities in children and damage the central nervous system, the FDA reports.
The powders are made and packaged in India and then labeled by Raja Foods, said Swetal Patel, vice president of sales for the distributor, which has been selling the powders since 1992.
Patel estimated that about 95 percent of the sindoor packages were collected in the first recall and that about 85 percent of all five powders were picked up in the latest recall.
Parker, however, said the state health department doesn’t have a figure for how many recalled units were actually accounted for. No one has come in for a refund, Patel said.
Raja Foods distributes primarily to states east of the Mississippi River and to dozens of Indian grocery stores in Illinois. There are four other Raja Foods branches in the country.
“As soon as this is all over, we do not intend to import this product again,” Patel said.
Other local governments also are getting the word out.
Cook County Department of Public Health officials are sending out inspectors to 35 of the county’s 128 suburbs to check if Indian grocery stores have taken the products off the shelves, said agency spokeswoman Kitty Loewy.
The DuPage County Health Department posted the recall information on its Web site and inspectors will be looking for these products, spokesman David Hass said. So far, the county hasn’t found the products out on store shelves, he said.
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tshah@tribune.com
