FDA Warns of Dangers of Mexican Vanilla – Tonka Beans, Not Vanilla Beans

This is our next product to be wary of, as it contains an ingredient related to Warfarin, so you could be consuming the Vanilla and getting a little blood thinning action going on at the same time.

They don’t use a Vanilla tree, but rather the Tonka tree, why, less expensive to manufacture, no surprise here. Tonka beans and the extract contains coumarin. Products made with Coumarin have been banned in the US for over 50 years, but people go over the border at times to purchase products and now the Mexican Vanilla according to the FDA is appearing in stores and restaurants here. They advised to look at the contents and make sure it shows vanilla bean and not Tonka beans. I wonder if there is any other country other than Mexico and Latin America that make Vanilla with Tonka beans.

All the stories of late really do make you wonder about what are we really eating and the specific ingredients in such processed foods. BD

FRIDAY, Oct. 31 (HealthDay News) -- So-called Mexican "vanilla" is often made with a toxic substance called coumarin and shouldn't be bought by consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned this week. Coumarin is related to Warfarin, which is found in some blood thinners. Eating foods with Coumarin may be dangerous for people taking blood thinners, because the combination could increase their risk of bleeding.

FDA Warns of Dangers of Mexican Vanilla - washingtonpost.com