​2013-14 Coumarin in dried beverage mixes, breads, baking mixes, spice mixes, dried tea, baked goods, and breakfast foods

Targeted surveys are a means used by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to focus its surveillance activities on areas of highest risk. Targeted surveys have been incorporated into the CFIA's regular surveillance activities as a valuable tool for generating baseline information on foods and/or hazards that are not addressed by other Agency activities. The main objectives of this targeted survey were to: generate baseline surveillance data on the levels of coumarin in selected domestic and imported cinnamon-containing products available on the Canadian retail market, compare, where feasible, the prevalence of coumarin in foods targeted in this survey with that of similar products in previous surveys on coumarin and the scientific literature. Coumarin is a natural, fragrant compound found in plants such as cinnamon, tonka beans, and sweet clover. Coumarin was utilized as a flavouring agent in the food and perfume industry for many years until evidence related to its toxicological properties and potential adverse effects to the liver 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…

Publisher

Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Resources

1

Catalogue metadata updated

2026-03-31