Who doesn’t love a Danish pastry?
And in Denmark, they like their pastries sprinkled with plenty of cinnamon.
But now, Denmark’s bakers are being told that their time-honored recipe for the beloved kanelsnegle — or cinnamon swirl — may be unhealthy and against the law. Recent testing by the Danish government found that a large number of the rolls had too much cinnamon — more than the recommended limits set by the European Union.
Too much cinnamon? Yes, there is such a thing. Actually, the concern here is coumarin, a naturally occurring ingredient found in Cassia cinnamon, the most common variety of the spice sold in Europe and the U.S. In high-enough doses, coumarin can cause liver damage in a small group of sensitive individuals.
Back in 2008, the European Union set a limit for how much naturally occurring coumarin foods can contain: between 5 and 50 milligrams per kilogram of food, depending on the product (holiday goodies get a bit of a free pass).
But in a recent survey conducted by the Danish Food Administration, almost half of the “fine baked goods” tested were over the line. Now Danish food authorities say bakers have to cut back on the spice in their swirls…
