Better be careful not to feast on the cinnamon. Denmark's favorite bun has been deemed to have too much cinnamon by Europe's food authorities, the Wire reported.
Denmark may soon have to say farewell to everyone's favorite Danish pastry, the kanelsnegle - a luscious cinnamon bun that Europe's food authorities claim to have exceeded the EU limit of cinnamon per treat.
Cassia cinnamon, the most common strain, contains an ingredient called coumarin that's been found to cause liver damage in a small group of susceptible people, the Wire reported.
Since it's dangerous to take Coumarin in high doses, EU officials decided to cap use of the ingredient - and therefore, cinnamon - to between five and 50 milligrams per kilogram of food in 2008. The ban, however, is traditionally relaxed during the time of holidays.
Nearly half of the pastries tested for coumarin levels were way past the legally allotted amount, a recent Danish survey found. Although the Danish bakers have been asked to tone it down, they're not giving up without a fight, the Wire reported.
"We've been making bread and cakes with cinnamon for 200 years. Then suddenly the government says these pastries are not traditional?"said Hardy Christensen, President of Danish Baker's Association. "I have been a baker for 43 years and never come across anything like this - it's crazy... Normally, we do as we're told by the government and say OK, but now it's time to take a stand. Enough is enough."
Anders Grabow, also of the DBA, makes the point that the ban may be a good idea for children who eat more than half a kanelsnegle each day. But those kids might have bigger problems than cinnamon.
"We understand that the government wants to keep us safe - and a child who weighs 15 kgs will have reached their daily dose of cinnamon by eating half a kanelsnegle - a cinnamon swirl - if we continue to have 50 mg of coumarin per kg of baked product," he said. "But if a child that young eats that much pastry every day, they're on the fast track to obesity and cinnamon is the least of their worries."
The average adult consumes only two kanelsnegle a week, according to the Wire.
The ruling might have upset the Danes also because the Swedes are not restricted from eating the kannenbullar, Sweden's version of the kanelsnegle, the Guardian reported. Both Norway and the U.K. have gotten away with lax cinnamon laws, as well.
Using less cinnamon could rob the kanelsnegle of its very kanelsnegle essence, said the Danish bakers. "Using lower amounts of the spice will change the distinctive flavor and produce less tasty pastries," said Christensen.
The Danish government has put the issue to rest for now, agreeing to reconsider the ban on the too-cinammony treats in February.