From Phil Edwards.
Thanks to Graza for sponsoring this video! Get 10% off your order at https://graza.yt.link/R28XS8p using PHIL10 at checkout.
The Tonka bean is used around the world. Why not in the USA?
Info and sources here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/127955457
Most Americans have never tasted the Tonka bean—a mysterious, fragrant ingredient banned for use in food by the FDA, yet beloved by chefs worldwide. In this investigative video, I explore why Tonka beans, which smell like vanilla, almond, and cinnamon, are illegal in the U.S., despite their widespread culinary use in Europe, Latin America, and high-end kitchens. We trace the story from the Amazon rainforest to the 1950s FDA crackdown, uncovering a forgotten regulatory panic that confused coumarin (a naturally occurring compound in Tonka beans) with rat poison and blood thinners like warfarin and Coumadin.
We’ll go deep into FDA history, chemical scares, and the Delaney Clause—a 1958 amendment that reshaped food safety law in America. Along the way, we’ll visit the kitchens of restaurants like Alinea, examine oral histories from FDA officials, and expose how irrational fears of chemicals shaped public policy. This is the absurd true story of how a bean became contraband, how black currants and cyclamate sweeteners faced similar fates, and why flavor compounds are treated so differently from fragrance and tobacco additives.
If you care about food regulation, banned ingredients, American food history, or the way moral panics influence law, you’ll want to watch this. Subscribe for more deep dives into banned foods, regulatory oddities, and the stories behind the ingredients we’re not allowed to eat.
Find me elsewhere:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philedwardsinc/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/philedwardsinc
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/philedwardsinc
Some music by the inimitable Tom Fox via Chromatic: https://tfbeats.com/
Where I get some music (Free trial affiliate link):
https://share.epidemicsound.com/olkrqv
My camera, as of February 2022 (affiliate link):
https://amzn.to/3HDcWVz
My main lens: https://amzn.to/3IteXEK
My main light: https://amzn.to/3pjO0M8
My main light accessory: https://amzn.to/3M6eL0j
