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| Europe |
| Lay off die Zimtsterne keks. Smells like hay, don't eet it. |
| 2006-12-23 |
| German Christmas cookies hit by health scare "Cinnamon hotline, guten Tag. How can I help you?" Amid a health scare over traditional cinnamon cookies, Germans are racing to get the facts on the sugar and spice they consume by the truckload at Christmastime. The culprit is coumarin, a toxic chemical compound smelling of newly mown hay that naturally occurs in cinnamon grown in China -- a key ingredient in the star-shaped biscuits and other sweets that are wildly popular here during the holiday season. The hotline was recently set up by the German Confectionery Industry Association (BDSI) after Germany's federal states issued an official warning about coumarin on the basis of a study by an independent health watchdog. It warned that children weighing less than 15kg should not eat more than one spice cake or four of the glazed cinnamon cookies known as "Zimtsterne" that are omnipresent each December. Adults with a sweet tooth can safely eat up to 16 biscuits daily. Fearing a crippling blow to the industry at the most lucrative time of the year, the BDSI has staffed the hotline with pleasant operators who advise callers to enjoy spice cookies and cinnamon-rich mulled wine "in moderation". Coumarin has been banned as a food additive in several countries for decades because it can have a toxic effect on the kidneys and liver. Some consumer groups have charged that it is potentially carcinogenic. It is found in relatively high doses in cinnamon from China, one of two kinds most commonly sold on the world market. The Chinese variety is frequently used in store-bought baked goods. European Union regulations set the upper limit at two milligrams of coumarin per kilogram for food products. But almost half of cookies, cereals and rice puddings sold in Germany surpass this amount, said Barbara Hohl, of the independent consumer protection group Foodwatch. Foodwatch tested 28 products, including 11 cookie brands, and found coumarin levels that were up to 20 times the European legal limit. "This is a violation of the law. These products should be pulled from the market. But because of pressure from the industry, all we have are recommendations to consumers," Hohl said. Foodwatch has launched legal action against a well-known cookie manufacturer, a supermarket chain and the federal ministry of consumer protection. However, the industry lobby argues that the European regulations are far too strict and that consumption of up to 67 milligrams per kilogram of food (about 30 times the legal limit) poses no health threat. "Cinnamon and products containing it are only dangerous if consumed over a long period of time and in great quantities by people of fragile health," the BDSI said in a statement. Nevertheless, leading cookie goods manufacturer Bahlsen recently announced that it had decided to changes its recipes to reduce the amount of coumarin in its products. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #5 |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-12-23 13:28 |
| #4 Coumarin is also known to many heart patients as a precursor drug to anti-coagulants, such as warfarin. "Coumarin clinics" have big lobbies, as most people who get a pacemaker implant have to take coumarin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coumarin |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-12-23 13:27 |
| #3 Oh, ferchrissakes. Die Deutsche have been eating these cookies for how many Give it a rest, Dummköpfe. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2006-12-23 13:15 |
| #2 I don't care, I'll get fatter by gorging on chocolate instead. |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-12-23 12:48 |
| #1 Damn! |
| Posted by: RWV 2006-12-23 12:35 |