Powdered Turmeric still on sale despite Lead Chromate fears

 

by Helen Said, Melbourne Australia.

Many falsely labelled and potentially toxic products remain on supermarket shelves, despite an ABC Four Corners investigation, of 27th July 2026, exposing food labelling fraud. [1]

A quick glance at both Coles and Woolworths websites show that, six weeks after forensic scientists from Source Certain detected lead chromate and iron oxide in three samples of Hoyts Turmeric, the product is still on sale and the price has gone up to $6.20, a 13 percent price rise in the past fortnight.

Late last month, I ordered a jar of Hoyts ground turmeric, for $5.50, online from Woolworths. I add turmeric to drinks, and occasionally to my cooking, for its reputed health benefits, and I was unaware that some brands were potentially adulterated. It was only after seeing an item on social media yesterday, and searching for the news report online, that I discovered that three out of four samples of this product had tested positive for iron oxide and lead chromate.

That information certainly isn't on the Hoyts turmeric label. The label carries an Australian flag logo, which says, "Supporting Aussie jobs. Always!"

According to the Source Certain Scientist, iron oxide is "actually kind of a crushed-up rock … which is not uncommon from an adulteration point of view. It's added for colour, it's also added for weight". 

A Medical News Today article asks, "What is lead chromate, and why do people use it to color turmeric?

"Lead chromate, a chemical compound comprising lead and chromium, is a yellow pigment that can enhance the brightness of a substance. It is also poisonous, acting as a neurotoxin when humans ingest or inhale it.

"Experts consider lead unsafe in any quantity as it leads to cognitive defects. Usually, manufacturers use lead chromate to give yellow and orange oils and paints their color." [2]

After reading these articles on the internet, I immediately went to my Woolworths account and demanded a refund from Olive, the online customer service robot, citing that the product contains iron oxide and lead chromate and is potentially toxic. Most unusually, Olive did not offer a refund online, but instead put me in a very long queue to speak to a human operator. 

After a long wait, the customer service rep labelled my request for a refund as a "change of mind refund request", and told me I could not get a refund online. I would have to take the jar of turmeric back to the store for a refund. I replied that this was not a change of mind refund request. The product was contaminated, it needed to be pulled from the shelves and there needed to be a product recall. 

The customer servic rep said the product had been delivered to my house by the South Morang Store, but she allowed me to take it back to a store closer to home for a refund. I had been waiting to speak to a human operator for so long that I had time to write down my online order number, delivery date, and cut and paste quotes from Four Corners and Medical News Today. 

Late yesterday evening, I took this information, along with the jar of turmeric, to Epping Plaza Woolworths and demanded a refund. I gave the information to the acting Store Manager who was very sympathetic. Unexpectedly, the jar couldn't be scanned for a refund, and I was offered a store credit note for $6.20, which I accepted. I left my contact details and my notes for him to pass onto the regular store manager, and I asked for the regular store manager to contact me and tell me what Woolworths is going to do about this. I said there should be a product recall and the product should be pulled from their shelves.

How can a supermarket keep a potentially toxic product on their shelves, labelled as "Supporting Aussie jobs. Always!", sideline complaints about the product as a "change of mind refund request", and put the price up to $6.20? To borrow a phrase from a possible user of iron oxide - lead chromate coloured neurotoxins, "Please Explain."


sources

[1] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-27/food-fraud-investigation-reveals-truth-behind-labels/106960116

[2] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/326652







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