The Delaney Clause is a part of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1958, Section 409, and it prohibits the addition to food of any substance that will cause cancer in animals or humans. The clause states "no additive will be deemed to be safe if it is found to induce cancer when ingested by man or animal, or if it is found, after tests which are appropriate for the evaluation of the safety of food additives, to induce cancer in man or animals..." The clause addresses the safety of food intended for human consumption and few, if any, reasonable individuals would argue with its intent.

There is however, an emerging scientific controversy over its application, and many now question the merits of the clause as it is written. For example, safrole occurs naturally as a constituent in sassafras tea and spices and thus permissibly under...