[OJFord]

But I wasn't suggesting it would be 'caught at the US border' so much as that if you're buying from big industrial process exporting around the world it's just so much less likely to be an issue to begin with. Article is about relatively small time farmers (processing and perhaps direct selling it themselves) trying to save their failed crop and their livelihood.

[sorcerer-mar]

“Less likely,” sure. But way more likely than people would probably intuit.

There are plenty of very mainstream industrial brands with all sorts of contamination.

> I don't think you need to worry buying it from a store that's imported it properly

This statement is not true.

[OJFord]

It very much is true: I am 'I' and that is what I [don't] 'think'.

Statements I didn't make like 'it has never ever been detected at any level in ...' may well not be true, but on the scale of risks to worry about I do not think this ranks.

[sorcerer-mar]

"I think the earth is flat"

No that's not true

"Well it's true that I think that."

You got me!

For other readers: OJFord doesn't know what s/he's talking about and you should look up tests for the specific brands for the specific spices you're looking to buy, especially if you have children and/or you use spices liberally in your food. The US does not systematically test spices for contamination like this and it does show up in high levels in the American spice supply. Unfortunately it doesn't seem like there are brands that are across-the-board good on contamination.