which herbal ingredients are'nt allowed

[chaucer]

A friend told me that the feds have a list of herbs that are not allowed to be used during commercial brewing or distilling. It would seem that wormwood came off that list but I can't seem to find anything about it. Can anyone offer suggestions?

[delaware_phoenix]

check the FDA web site for the GRAS (Generally recognized as safe), EAFUS (Everything Added to Food in the US) lists. There's some CFRs in the FDA part of the regs that discuss prohibited items. Calamus is one. I think some of the regs are at CFR 172.510 (but that's from memory). Wormwood, as well as oak moss, tansy and a few others are limited in that the resulting product must be "thujone free" and that seems to be no more than 10 ppm according to TTB's gas chromatography test.

For the most part, herbs and the like are considered flavorings (and not directly food) and your process must follow GMP: Good Manufacturing Practice. Use only enough to achieve the desired flavor. That has a lot of leeway.

[Gwydion Stone]

I think Flavoring Substances and Adjuvants Subject to Limitation or Restriction may be close to what you're looking for.

Nowadays the restrictions are often placed on the particular offending chemical compound in a botanical rather than the herb in general. Wormwood is the perfect example: if any Artemisia species are used, not just absinthium, the finished product must be "thujone free," which, as DP has pointed out, means under 10ppm. Similarly, any products which contain Sassafras must be safrole free. I believe Tonka Beans are prohibited outright because of coumarin content, and any permitted botanicals such as Woodruff must be coumarin free.

Most of these prohibitions is because the FDA discovered that if you force-feed astronomical amounts of these substances in their raw form to a rat, the rat eventually gets cancer.

[Spirits Review]

Tonka beans have been a stumbling block for bitters manufacture for a long time. A number of people in the cocktail community have been wanting to revive a lot of old bitters recipes and hit that wall. There are rumors that cheap vanilla extract from Mexico is adulterated with Tonka Beans ( home of the much cheaper substitute) but so far no seizures or arrests. The amount of coumarin in bitters is minuscule and how much is used in each cocktail ?

It is simply a NO, NONE, NOT ANY, drug of any kind can be in a food (except of course antibiotics,growth hormones,etc., as they have better lobbyists than the Tonka Bean producers )

Safrole is because of the rats and Sassafras is also problematical because they worry that it is a precursor to Ecstasy (MDMA) or so I understand, same for calumus

Even Angustora bark is not allowed to be in am IMPORTED product - (read your bottle of Angustora Bitters carefully) but is allowed in domestic bitters.

There seem to be separate lists for imports and domestic ( not that this is a problem for anyone here) just another twist to keep you guessing

[chaucer]

thanks alot gstone thats the list I was looking for.

[chaucer]

Does anyone know why calamus is on the prohibited list? I didnt realize that it was not useable at all in food products.

[Charles@AEppelTreow]

Because it's carcinogenic and hallucenogenic?

[Marc]

Calamus contains beta asarone. Beta asarone has been shown to cause cancer to laboratory rats when fed huge, huge, huge amounts of of it. FWIW, the native calamus grown in the USA has been shown to be beta asarone free.

[delaware_phoenix]

Here's the relevant 21 CFR 189.110 (available here: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-...pl=%2Findex.tpl then navigate to Title 21, select volume 3 (170-199) and then 189) which is quoted below. I believe calamus is legal in the EU, but I don't know what restrictions, if any, are placed on its use.

§ 189.110 Calamus and its derivatives.

(a) Calamus is the dried rhizome of Acorus calamus L. It has been used as a flavoring compound, especially as the oil or extract.

( Food containing any added calamus, oil of calamus, or extract of calamus is deemed to be adulterated in violation of the act based upon an order published in theFederal Register of May 9, 1968 (33 FR 6967).

© The analytical method used for detecting oil of calamus (β-asarone) is in the “Journal of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists,” Volume 56, (Number 5), pages 1281 to 1283, September 1973, which is incorporated by reference. Copies are available from the AOAC INTERNATIONAL, 481 North Frederick Ave., suite 500, Gaithersburg, MD 20877, also from the Division of Food and Color Additives, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (HFS–200), Food and Drug Administration, 5100 Paint Branch Pkwy., College Park, MD 20740, or available for inspection at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). For information on the availability of this material at NARA, call 202–741–6030, or go to: http://www.archives.gov/federal_register/c..._locations.html.

[42 FR 14659, Mar. 15, 1977, as amended at 47 FR 11855, Mar. 19, 1982; 54 FR 24899, June 12, 1989]

[chaucer]

thank you guys once again.

[Spirits Review]

Because it's carcinogenic and hallucenogenic?

Both.

[Steve_CA]

Coumarin was mentioned in this thread and that's the ingredient (sweetgrass) I'm interesed in using... First exposed to sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) as an ingredient in a "tea" in Vietnam. Googling sweetgrass seems to indicate it's still banned here but I just saw a link to a bison grass vodka (Polish) that's been allowed to be imported. Is that a coumarin-free beverage or have the rules changed?

[Gwydion Stone]

Coumarin free. But it may be worth looking into how "coumarin free" is determined or whether H. odorata is specifically prohibited.

FYI, this is the same sweetgrass that grows wild here in the US and is used in Native American/New Age smudge sticks. You can grow it yourself or buy it in bulk from New Age herb suppliers.

[tellner]

Tonka beans have been a stumbling block for bitters manufacture for a long time. A number of people in the cocktail community have been wanting to revive a lot of old bitters recipes and hit that wall. There are rumors that cheap vanilla extract from Mexico is adulterated with Tonka Beans ( home of the much cheaper substitute) but so far no seizures or arrests. The amount of coumarin in bitters is minuscule and how much is used in each cocktail ?

It is simply a NO, NONE, NOT ANY, drug of any kind can be in a food (except of course antibiotics,growth hormones,etc., as they have better lobbyists than the Tonka Bean producers )

Safrole is because of the rats and Sassafras is also problematical because they worry that it is a precursor to Ecstasy (MDMA) or so I understand, same for calumus

Even Angustora bark is not allowed to be in am IMPORTED product - (read your bottle of Angustora Bitters carefully) but is allowed in domestic bitters.

There seem to be separate lists for imports and domestic ( not that this is a problem for anyone here) just another twist to keep you guessing

Sweet woodruff and bison grass contain coumarin. They are, if memory serves, legal.

Safrole and sassafras oil are illegal because safrole may be an extremely mild carcinogen, but sassafras root is once again legal to sell. I'm not sure if it's legal to use the root itself rather than an extract.

Catechu is an ingredient in a number of old bitters. The nut itself is legal in the US as far as I know, but like Peru Balsam and a couple others it's very difficult to find.

By the bye, if anyone knows where I can get ahold of either of those, angostura bark and a couple others in small quantities for experimentation - and for comparison so I can come up with reasonable and less problematic substitutes - please let me know.