in the late 1800s you could get lead poisoning from cayenne pepper!

Paint Put in Pepper

[Chicago Herald.]

"I dislike to see you eat cayenne pepper," said a wholesale grocer to a friend who was putting the stuff on some raw oysters.
"Why?" said the friend. The grocer dusted a little of the pepper on the open page of his notebook and drew his finger over it. A number of small red lines showed where grains of pepper had been drawn over the paper.
"Because half of this stuff is not pepper. The real article, pure and strong, comes from the West Indies. It is regularly adulterated for restaurant use by mixing it with rice, flour and
ground mustard husks which have been colored red with red lead. Those red lines on the paper are pure red paint"

Published by: Bideford Daily Journal, July 31, 1885

Written by: ?