Holy Sassafras! (2024)

FAQs

Is gumbo filé powder illegal? ›

Since only you can decide if the food you're eating is safe, we've put together the facts about all the parts and uses of sassafras. To be clear, the leaves of the sassafras tree do not contain enough safrole to be banned, so filé powder is fine for consumption and sale.

Safrole was found to contribute to liver cancer in rats when given in high doses, and thus it and sassafras or sarsaparilla-containing products were banned.

Sassafras is a plant. The root bark is used to make medicine. Despite serious safety concerns, sassafras is used for urinary tract disorders, swelling in the nose and throat, syphilis, bronchitis, high blood pressure in older people, gout, arthritis, skin problems, and cancer.

Filé powder, also known as gumbo filé, is an herbal powder made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum), native to eastern North America. The roots and bark of this same plant were the original base for root beer.

People used to drink sassafras tea. However, sassafras tea contains a high concentration of safrole, which was about 4.5 times the permissible dose. Thus, in 1976, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the sales of sassafras tea. Moreover, the FDA prohibited the use of sassafras as food additives.

To be clear, filé powder is not carcinogenic. But it does come from sassafras albidum, an aromatic deciduous tree whose root bark and fruit contain a substance called safrole, which the National Library of Medicine describes as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen".

In 1960 the FDA banned the use of sassafras oil in foodstuffs after evidence accumulated showing that the main constituent, safrole, was carcinogenic. Safrole is also found in filé, nutmeg, mace, cinnamon, anise, black pepper and sweet basil, but in low enough concentration to be deemed safe.

In the US, commercially available culinary sassafras oil is usually devoid of safrole due to a rule passed by the U.S. FDA in 1960. Safrole can be obtained through natural extraction from Sassafras albidum and Ocotea cymbarum.

Since safrole, a key component of sassafras, was banned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1960 due to its carcinogenicity, most commercial root beers have been flavored using artificial sassafras flavoring, but a few (e.g. Hansen's) use a safrole-free sassafras extract.

The medicinal uses of sassafras by Native Americans were many. Infusions made from the bark of the roots were taken internally as a preventive to ward off fever, as well as a remedy to treat diarrhea, rheumatism, measles, and scarlet fever.

Can you sleep on sassafras? ›

Sassafras might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Taking sassafras along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness. Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), zolpidem (Ambien), and others.

Sassafras is a slang when someone is called "sassafras" it means the person is rude, sassy, impudent or disrespectful.

Sassafras tea is popular for its root beer-like flavor and aroma. Despite its long-standing reputation as a powerful medicinal herb, some research suggests that sassafras could do more harm than good. Once considered a household staple, it has become harder to find.

Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy herb seasoning made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum).

Sassafras is a primary herb in Cajun and Creole cooking. This spicy jambalaya comes together in about an hour, and it's packed with New Orleans flavor. Ground Sassafras leaf, Cayenne our Cajun Blackened Seasoning give this classic Creole dish its distinctive flavor.

Enjoy this delicious Creole gumbo made with filé powder. Filé is a spicy herb seasoning made from ground sassafras tree leaves. It was first used by Choctaw Native Americans to both flavor and thicken many soups and stews.

When taken by mouth: Sassafras is POSSIBLY SAFE in foods and beverages if it is "safrole-free." In medicinal amounts, taking safrole-free sassafras is POSSIBLY UNSAFE. Some scientists think even safrole-free sassafras can increase the risk of cancer.

It used to be frowned upon for human consumption because the plant contains a weak carcinogen called "safrole." It's been determined that, while the roots and bark of sassafras contain significant amounts of safrole, the leaves do not contain enough safrole to even be detected by normal testing, and filé powder has ...

Sassafras, or "file," is an important plant for the Acadians of south Louisiana. Its leaves are used to make file' which is used to thicken gumbo. A tea made from the roots was a common remedy before the discovery that it contains safrole, a carcinogenic. Luckily the leaves do not contain safrole (Holmes 1990).