Sugar, spice and everything illegal? According to the European Union, Danish cinnamon rolls and twists are against the rules because they are too spicy.

AP reports that The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration has determined that Danish cinnamon rolls and twists have too much of a dangerous ingredient: coumarin. Coumarin is found in the most common types of cinnamon. The chemical compound is limited by EU rules because overindulgence of the substance could potentially harm consumers' livers.

As a result, the EU has requested that Danish bakers alter their recipes and put less cinnamon in their kanelsnegles and kanelstangs (cinnamon rolls and cinnamon twists, respectively). Bakers, however, like their pastries just how they are.

"A grown man like me could eat like 10 kanelsnegle every day for several years and not even get near the limit of what's dangerous to my liver," Anders Grabow, a spokesman for the Danish Bakers' Association, told AP. "I would probably get too much sugar in my body before that."

The EU limits 15-milligrams of coumarin per kilogram of "fine baked goods." Last year, more than 50 percent of 74 food samples from supermarkets, bakers and importers surpassed this limit.

Meanwhile, Danish bakers complain that Sweden is getting away with the same offense. They say that Swedish cinnamon rolls contain more than three times the allowed amount of coumarin. Swedish bakers get away with it because their rolls are classified as "traditional and seasonal bakery" and thus have less strict rules.

According to Henrik Nielsen, Danish food agency spokesman, Danish cinnamon rolls get a different classification from those of Sweden because the kanelsnegle is sold year-round and not just during the holidays. Still, the food agency will hold a meeting with the Danish Bakers' Association to determine whether or not the Danish foods' classification can be changed.

"When someone challenges people's craftsmanship, it may get emotional," Nielsen said. "...we want the industry to respect existing rules."

Frederic Vincent, an EU spokesman, says that individual countries' authorities are responsible for upholding EU legislation, but that the Commission is willing to help Danish and Swedish authorities, if they ask.

"[The Commission could help] to find a common interpretation that complies with the EU legislation, adequately protects Danish and Swedish (and other European consumers) and does not disrupt the EU internal market," Vincent said.

Until then, kanselgate, or cinnamongate, as the incident is being called, continues.