Can You Drink Sassafras? Understanding the Risks and the FDA Ban

November 24, 2025 •

3 min read

In the 1960s, a major health concern emerged linking safrole, a compound found in sassafras, to liver cancer in animal studies, leading the FDA to ban its use in food. This regulatory action completely changed the public's relationship with the once-popular herbal remedy and root beer ingredient, prompting a critical question: Can you drink sassafras?

Quick Summary

Sassafras containing safrole is banned for consumption by the FDA due to cancer risks found in animal studies. Even homemade teas can contain dangerous levels of safrole, which can cause liver damage. Only commercially produced, safrole-free sassafras products are considered safe for consumption.

Key Points

FDA Ban: The FDA banned sassafras containing safrole as a food additive in the 1960s due to its link to liver cancer in animals.
Safrole is a Carcinogen: The volatile oil safrole, found in natural sassafras root and bark, has been classified as a potential human carcinogen.
Health Risks: Beyond cancer, consuming sassafras with safrole can cause liver damage, central nervous system depression, hallucinations, and is unsafe for pregnant women and children.
Safrole-Free Products: Only commercially produced sassafras products that have had the safrole removed are legally sold and considered safe for consumption.
Do Not Forage: Foraging and making homemade sassafras tea or other preparations is extremely dangerous due to the uncontrolled concentration of safrole.
Safe Alternatives: To achieve a similar root beer flavor, safe alternatives like wintergreen, sarsaparilla, birch bark, and other spices are recommended.
High Toxicity: The oil of sassafras is highly toxic, and as little as 5 mL can be lethal to an adult.

Sassafras and Safrole: A Dangerous Combination

Historically, sassafras (specifically the root bark) was a popular ingredient in North America, used to make tea, flavor root beer, and for a variety of traditional medicinal purposes. The plant's aromatic properties come from a volatile oil, the primary component of which is safrole. It is this compound, however, that led to its downfall.

In the 1960s, research demonstrated that high doses of safrole caused liver damage and liver cancer in laboratory animals. This discovery prompted swift action from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which officially banned sassafras and safrole as food additives in 1960. As a result, the classic sassafras root beer flavor is now replicated using artificial or safrole-free alternatives.

The Health Risks of Consuming Sassafras

Beyond the long-term cancer risk, consuming sassafras containing safrole can have other immediate and severe health consequences. The concentration of safrole varies, but it is present in high enough quantities in homemade tea to pose a significant danger. For instance, consuming just 5 mL of sassafras oil can be fatal to an adult. In addition to the direct toxicity, safrole can also interact with other medications and slow down the central nervous system.

Carcinogenic effects: The primary concern is the link between safrole and liver cancer, evidenced in animal studies. While direct human studies are limited, the risk is considered significant enough for a ban.
Liver damage: High concentrations of safrole can cause liver damage.
Central Nervous System (CNS) depression: Sassafras can cause sleepiness and drowsiness, and when combined with other sedative medications, can be particularly dangerous.
Pregnancy risks: Sassafras is considered unsafe for pregnant women as it may cause miscarriage.
Hallucinations and high blood pressure: Higher doses can cause more severe side effects like vomiting, high blood pressure, and hallucinations.

Safrole-Free vs. Natural Sassafras

Today, you may find commercial products that claim to use sassafras, but these are legally required to be safrole-free. Foraging and preparing sassafras yourself is the most dangerous form of consumption, as there is no way to guarantee the removal of safrole at home.


Feature	Homemade Sassafras Tea (Traditional)	Commercial Safrole-Free Sassafras Product
Safrole Content	High concentration, potentially toxic and carcinogenic.	Legally required to be removed; minimal to zero safrole present.
Flavor Profile	Distinctive, spicy, and often compared to root beer.	Attempt to mimic the original flavor, but may lack depth and complexity.
Safety	Highly unsafe for human consumption due to health risks.	Considered possibly safe, but some scientists express caution.
Availability	Requires foraging the sassafras tree and preparing at home.	Sold in stores, often as extracts or flavorings for candy and beverages.
Legality	Illegal for use in commercial food products in the US.	Legal, as long as the safrole has been removed.

Modern Alternatives for that Classic Flavor

For those seeking the nostalgic, spicy-sweet flavor of traditional root beer, a number of safe and delicious alternatives exist. Many modern recipes use a blend of herbs, spices, and roots to recreate the taste without the danger of safrole.

Wintergreen: This ingredient offers a minty, candy-like flavor that is a close second to sassafras.
Sarsaparilla: A delightful and aromatic root with a faint vanilla flavor that complements other spices well.
Birch Bark: Often used in combination with wintergreen to replace sassafras in modern root beer recipes.
Licorice Root and Anise: These can provide the tingling, spicy quality similar to sassafras.
Spices and Citrus: Cinnamon, cloves, and star anise, along with orange peel, can help build a complex, spicy flavor profile.

Conclusion: A Ban With Good Reason

The question of "Can you drink sassafras?" has a clear and firm answer: No, you should not drink sassafras that contains safrole due to its proven health risks, including a link to cancer. While its use in traditional medicine is part of history, modern science and regulatory action by the FDA have shown that the dangers of consuming safrole outweigh any purported benefits. For those interested in the distinctive root beer flavor, safe and readily available safrole-free commercial products and natural herbal alternatives provide a responsible way to enjoy the taste without putting your health at risk. For more information on the FDA's regulations and classification of safrole, see the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21.

Authoritative Source

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations Title 21 - FDA.gov

Frequently Asked Questions

Drinking sassafras containing safrole is harmful because safrole has been shown to be a carcinogen in animal studies, potentially causing liver cancer. It can also lead to liver damage and other severe side effects.

Yes, there is a risk. Animal studies have shown that the safrole in sassafras can cause liver cancer, and although human studies are limited, experts consider it to be a risk.

Sassafras containing safrole is banned for use as a food additive by the FDA. However, commercially available products that have been processed to remove the safrole are legal to sell and consume.

Safrole-free sassafras is an extract derived from the sassafras plant where the volatile, carcinogenic compound safrole has been removed during processing, making it safe for consumption.

Consuming homemade sassafras tea can expose you to dangerous levels of safrole, potentially causing immediate side effects like vomiting, high blood pressure, and sweating, and long-term risks like liver damage and cancer.

Modern root beer flavor is typically achieved using a combination of safe, legal ingredients such as wintergreen, sarsaparilla, birch bark, and other spices like cinnamon and anise.

While sassafras was used traditionally for various ailments, modern medicine and regulatory bodies like the FDA do not recommend its use due to the significant health risks associated with safrole.