EU latest market with confirmed cinnamon problems

A recent study from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) revealed instances of fraud and potential food safety issues in cinnamon found on the EU market. This comes after the United States has faced significant problems with contaminated cinnamon for the past few years. 

The JRC study is part of the Commission’s efforts to fight fraud across the food sector. The global compound annual growth rate for cinnamon is estimated at 6.4% to 12.4%. Demand is expected to continue growing in the coming years and cinnamon prices have already increased. There is a significant price difference between the two most common cinnamon varieties, Ceylon – the highest quality and more expensive option, and Cassia – a more strongly flavoured but lower quality type.

Currently, cinnamon marketed in the EU must comply with several regulations. These include general principles and requirements of food law, food safety procedures, rules for the provision of food information to consumers, and standards for the maximum levels for certain contaminants in food, food additives, and flavourings. 

Bad actors are motivated to adulterate or enhance either variety of cinnamon with additives to generate more profits for themselves. This may include partially or completely substituting Ceylon cinnamon with Cassia cinnamon, adulterating either variety with a completely different plant, or using cinnamon root, leaves, flowers, or seeds instead of the bark. 

As we’ve seen in the U.S., cinnamon products are also vulnerable to contamination with lead or other substances to increase the weight, and thus the cost. 

The JRC researchers used four in-house developed screening methods to detect and identify possible fraudulent practices in a sample of 104 commercially available cinnamon products purchased from retailers in 10 EU countries, as well as Serbia, Sri Lanka, and the UK. The analysis was designed to provide a snapshot of the current challenges and issues associated with cinnamon in the European market to inform future regulatory and quality control efforts.

Study findings

More than 66% of the samples analysed by JRC failed to meet international quality standards, were non-compliant with EU food safety legislation, and/or were suspected of fraud. 

Several of the samples were contaminated with other additives. 9.6% exceeded the Commission’s standards for the maximum allowable level of lead in cinnamon bark. The level of coumarin in 29.8% of samples potentially surpassed the legal limit at amounts hazardous to children under the age of 10. Coumarin is a natural aromatic compound found in Cassia and other plants that can be toxic to the liver in higher concentrations.

The study also found that as much as 9% of the samples labelled as Ceylon cinnamon were totally or partially substituted with Cassia cinnamon. Other types of fraud, such as substitution of cinnamon bark with other parts of the cinnamon tree, were suspected in a high rate of samples. Both of these substitutions, if deliberate, are intended to lower the cost of producing the cinnamon and garner higher prices when selling the final product.

The JRC authors did not make any policy recommendations to address the high occurrence of fraudulent practices, but they did emphasise the need to use multiple analytical techniques to identify fraud and address the problem holistically. 

The JRC notes that its findings could “help the scientific community and policy makers to set threshold values for the different cinnamon components, and to define when to consider a sample as suspicious.” This would improve surveillance of cinnamon and make it easier for competent authorities to enforce regulations.

Looking ahead

Fraud and food safety concerns in cinnamon are clearly a growing issue in the EU, and the U.S. That makes them likely to be a regulatory priority. Food producers should conduct a thorough audit of their supply chain and consider conducting their own analysis of pure cinnamon or any final products containing the spice to ensure they are free from fraud and comply with relevant regulations on purity and safety. Companies should also expect increased scrutiny from regulators.

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