Editing Sassafras (section)

===Culinary===
{{Hatnote|See [[Sassafras albidum#Culinary use|''Sassafras albidum'' § Culinary use]] for more information on culinary use specific to the extant North American species, and legislation in the United States restricting the use of products derived from sassafras.}}

''Sassafras albidum'' is an important ingredient in some distinct foods of the US. It has been the main ingredient in traditional [[root beer]]s and sassafras root teas, and the ground leaves of sassafras are a distinctive additive in Louisiana's [[Cajun cuisine]]. Sassafras is used in [[filé powder]], a common thickening and flavoring agent in Louisiana [[gumbo]]. Methods of cooking with sassafras combine this ingredient native to America with traditional North American and European culinary techniques; they contribute to the unique [[Creole cuisine]], which is heavily influenced by the blend of cultures in Louisiana and other states along the [[Gulf of Mexico|Gulf]] coast.<ref>{{citation|last=Nobles|first=Cynthia Lejeune|chapter=Gumbo|title=New Orleans Cuisine: Fourteen Signature Dishes and Their Histories|editor-last=Tucker|editor-first=Susan|editor2-last=Starr|editor2-first=S. Frederick|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2009|page=110|isbn=978-1-60473-127-9|chapter-url-access=registration|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/neworleanscuisin00tuck_0/page/110}}</ref>

Sassafras, once a key ingredient in commercial American root beers, is no longer used, as its oil was banned in 1960 by the US [[Food and Drug Administration]] (FDA) in all commercially mass-produced foods and medications. The FDA's directive was in response to health concerns about the carcinogenicity of safrole, a major constituent of sassafras oil, in animal studies.<ref name=Dietz2007>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1021/tx7000527 | pmc = 2504026 |date=Apr 2007 |author1=Dietz, B |author2=Bolton, Jl | title = Botanical dietary supplements gone bad. | volume = 20 | issue = 4 | pages = 586–90 | issn = 0893-228X | pmid = 17362034 | journal = [[Chemical Research in Toxicology]] }}</ref><ref name=":0">Safrole: Human Health Effects. Toxnet: Toxicology Data Network. https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+2653 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029065409/https://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/a?dbs+hsdb:@term+@DOCNO+2653 |date=2017-10-29 }}</ref>

Sassafras leaves and flowers have also been used in salads, and to flavor fats or cure meats.<ref name = Duke2002>{{cite book |last=Duke |first=James |date=September 27, 2002 |title=CRC Handbook of Medicinal Spices |publisher=CRC Press |page=274 |isbn=978-0-8493-1279-3 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Weatherford |first=Jack |date=September 15, 1992 |title=Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America |publisher=Ballantine Books |page=52 |isbn=978-0-449-90713-9 }}</ref> The young twigs can also be eaten fresh or dried. Additionally, the subterranean portion of the plant can be peeled, dried and boiled to make tea.<ref>{{Cite book |author=United States Department of the Army |author-link=United States Department of the Army|chapter=Sassaras |title=The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants |publisher=[[Skyhorse Publishing]]  |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-60239-692-0 |location=New York |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xhc6TnJzA4EC&pg=PA89 |pages=89 |language=en-US |oclc=277203364}}</ref>