FSAP Chem TS - 2011-12 Coumarin in cinnamon and cinnamon-containing products - TS020 - Open Data

​​​The Food Safety Action Plan (FSAP) aims to modernize and enhance Canada's food safety system. As part of the FSAP enhanced surveillance initiative, targeted surveys are used to test various foods for specific chemical and microbiological hazards. The main objective of this targeted survey was to generate baseline surveillance data on the level of coumarin in cinnamon and cinnamon-containing products available on the Canadian retail market. Coumarin is a natural, fragrant compound found in plants such as cinnamon, tonka beans, and sweet clover. Coumarin has been utilized as a flavouring/aromatic compound in the food and perfume industry for many years until evidence related to its toxicological properties (namely, adverse health effects in rodents and dogs) led to its use in food being discontinued or banned in a number of countries, such as Canada and the United States. The direct addition of coumarin to food is not permitted in Canada. It is understood that low exposure to coumarin from natural sources is expected and not anticipated to represent a health risk. The 2011-2012 Coumarin survey targeted domestic and imported cinnamon and cinnamon-containing products. A total of…

Publisher

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Resources

1

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-04-08