Denmark’s food authority: danish cinnamon rolls are too spicy

danish cinnamon rolls too spicy

According to the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration many pastry chefs were found in violation of European Union’s rules for spice. Recently, Denmark’s food authority discovered that Danish cinnamon twists “kanelstang” and “kanelsnegal” rolls were packed with too much coumarin. Unfortunately, the ingestion of excess coumarin has been known to cause damage to the liver.

Despite agency requests, Danish bakers argued that making their pastries with less coumarin would be close to impossible. Speaking up for the Danish Bakers’ Association, Anders Grabow stated that eating 10 “kanelsnegles” a day for many years would not come close to a dangerous level of coumarin. The limit is currently 15 milligrams of coumarin per every kilogram of pastry baked. According to the agency’s findings, over 50 percent of the samples they tested last year contained more than the allowed amount of coumarin.

Authorities in Sweden classify coumarin as an ingredient that is a part of traditional seasonal baking and allow their bakers to use three times the amount that Danish bakers can use. As a result, Danish bakers feel this makes the strict Danish standards unfair. But according to Henrik Nielsen from the Danish food agency, they do not classify “kanelsnegle” as a holiday, seasonal pastry.

On the Web:

Danish Cinnamon Rolls Too Spicy for EU Rules
http://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/danish-cinnamon-rolls-spicy-eu-rules-21472522

Danish cinnamon rolls too spicy
http://news.yahoo.com/danish-cinnamon-rolls-too-spicy-eu-rules-100936373.html