Sassafras tea is illegal because its key ingredient, safrole, is classified as a potential carcinogen and has been banned from all food products in the United States since 1960. The root bark of the sassafras tree is roughly 80 percent safrole by oil content, and the FDA considers any food containing added safrole to be adulterated under federal law. On top of the cancer concern, safrole is also a DEA-listed precursor chemical used to manufacture MDMA (ecstasy), which adds a second layer of legal restriction.
The 1960 FDA Ban
On December 3, 1960, the FDA published an order declaring that food containing safrole, oil of sassafras, or related compounds is adulterated and illegal to sell. The regulation, codified in 21 CFR 189.180, specifically names sassafras tea as an example. The agency’s reasoning was straightforward: animal studies in the late 1950s linked safrole to liver tumors in rats, and the FDA determined that any level of a carcinogenic substance in food posed an unacceptable public health risk.
Before the ban, sassafras had a long commercial history. It was one of the first major exports from North America to Europe, valued both as a beverage and a folk medicine. Native Americans used it primarily for infections and digestive problems. The pleasant flavor of sassafras oil made it a staple ingredient in root beer and similar drinks for decades. The 1960 ban ended all of that overnight.
How Safrole Causes Harm
Safrole itself isn’t the direct problem. The danger comes from what your liver does with it. When you consume safrole, your body metabolizes it into a compound called 1′-hydroxysafrole, which is then converted into a highly reactive molecule (1′-sulfooxysafrole) that binds to DNA in liver cells. This DNA damage is the mechanism behind safrole’s cancer-causing potential. Research dating back to the 1970s and confirmed through the 1980s established this metabolic pathway clearly, with studies in mice providing strong evidence that the sulfate metabolite is the primary carcinogen.
In concentrated form, sassafras oil is outright toxic. Swallowing even a small amount of the pure oil can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, rapid heartbeat, hallucinations, and dangerously low blood pressure. In serious cases, it can damage the liver and kidneys, with recovery taking months. The oil can also burn skin on contact.
The MDMA Connection
The legal picture got more complicated in the decades after the food ban. Safrole is a key starting material for synthesizing MDMA, a Schedule I controlled substance. Because of this, the DEA classifies safrole as a List I chemical under the Controlled Substances Act. Sassafras oil, which is rich in safrole, falls under the same restrictions.
Anyone who handles safrole commercially is required to report suspicious transactions to the DEA, including unusually large orders, odd payment methods, or unexplained losses of inventory. Knowingly possessing or distributing safrole with reason to believe it will be used to make MDMA is a federal crime. This means that even outside the food context, buying large quantities of sassafras root bark or its oil can attract law enforcement attention.
What’s Still Legal
Not every part of the sassafras tree is banned. The restriction targets safrole specifically, so sassafras products that have had safrole removed are perfectly legal. This creates a few important exceptions.
- Safrole-free sassafras extract. Modern root beer uses a purified extract made by soaking sassafras root bark in dilute alcohol, concentrating the solution through vacuum distillation, then diluting it with water and discarding the oily fraction that contains safrole. The resulting extract retains the flavor but none of the regulated compound. The FDA approves this for use as a food flavoring under 21 CFR 172.580.
- Sassafras leaves (filé powder). The dried, ground leaves of the sassafras tree are a traditional thickener in Cajun and Creole cooking, especially gumbo. The FDA permits sassafras leaves in food provided they are safrole-free. The leaves naturally contain far less safrole than the root bark, and processed filé powder on store shelves is legal.
The distinction is clear in FDA records: “Oil of sassafras” is banned, while “Oil of sassafras, safrole free” and “Sassafras extract, safrole free” are regulated and permitted. The line falls entirely on whether safrole is present.
Safrole in Other Foods
One detail that surprises many people is that safrole isn’t unique to sassafras. Nutmeg contains safrole at concentrations around 11 percent of its extract, along with 280 to 420 milligrams per kilogram of the whole seed. Black pepper, cinnamon, and star anise also contain trace amounts. These spices remain legal because their safrole concentrations are low enough in typical use that the FDA hasn’t targeted them the same way. Sassafras root bark, with oil that’s 80 percent safrole, is in a different category entirely.
This disparity is part of what fuels debate about whether the ban is proportionate. Critics point out that the rat studies used doses far higher than what a person would consume in a cup of tea. Supporters counter that the carcinogenic mechanism is well-established and that any unnecessary exposure to a known animal carcinogen in food is worth eliminating, especially when safrole-free alternatives exist.
What Happens if You Make It Anyway
Sassafras trees grow wild across the eastern United States, and foraging the root bark for personal tea is something people still do. Enforcement at the individual level is virtually nonexistent. You won’t find federal agents knocking on your door for boiling bark. The law primarily targets commercial sale: you cannot legally sell sassafras tea, sassafras root bark marketed for tea, or any food product containing safrole. Online vendors who sell sassafras root bark typically label it “not for human consumption” or market it for potpourri and similar uses to skirt the regulation.
The practical risk of drinking an occasional cup of sassafras tea is a different question from the legal one. The FDA ban treats safrole as having no safe threshold in food, a regulatory stance that doesn’t distinguish between daily consumption and a single cup. But the cancer risk established in animal studies involved repeated, high-dose exposure over time, not occasional use. That context doesn’t change the law, but it does explain why some herbalists and traditional food enthusiasts view the ban as overly broad.