Cinnamon and Cassia for Buyers: Species, Market Names, HS Code and Labels

Put the full botanical name and the HS subheading on a cinnamon specification, because the official texts read for this guide use overlapping names and different botanical lists. Malaysia's Food Regulations 1985 define cinnamon as "the dried piece of the inner bark of the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia" (English text updated until August 2026). Indonesia's BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 defines kayu manis from the inner bark of five named sources (our translation), and the US list of spices in 21 CFR 182.10 prints "Cinnamomum cassia Blume." against both "Cassia, Chinese" and "Cinnamon, Chinese" (eCFR version of 7 October 2026). This guide covers the species each text names, the names in six markets, the forms, the trade code and standards, ingredient lists, and what to ask a supplier.

Which Species Do the Texts Call Cinnamon and Which Cassia?

United States. The 21 CFR 182.10 table headed "Spices and other natural seasonings and flavorings", listed as "generally recognized as safe for their intended use", has six rows in this group. "Cassia, Chinese" and "Cinnamon, Chinese" are both "Cinnamomum cassia Blume."; "Cassia, Saigon" and "Cinnamon, Saigon" are both "Cinnamomum loureirii Nees."; "Cassia, Padang or Batavia" is "Cinnamomum burmanni Blume."; and "Cinnamon, Ceylon" is "Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees.". The Environmental Protection Agency's crop group tables in 40 CFR 180.41, used "to establish crop group tolerances" for pesticide residues rather than to define the spice, list "Cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum)" and "Cassia bark (Cinnamomum aromaticum)" in Crop Group 19, and "Cinnamon, Saigon, bark, Cinnamomum loureiroi Nees." and "Batavia-cassia, bark, Cinnamomum burmanni (Nees & T. Nees) Blume." in Crop Group 26.

Codex. An information document of the Codex Committee on Spices and Culinary Herbs (CCSCH), a layout template for its standards rather than a standard, lists four dried barks in its grouping of spices: "Cassia" (Cinnamomum cassia Siebold), "Indonesian cassia" (Cinnamomum burmannii (Nees & T.Nees) Blume), "Vietnamese cassia" (Cinnamomum loureirii Nees) and "Cinnamon" (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume).

Thailand. A full research report of Thailand's Department of Agriculture (fiscal year 2558), citing an earlier work, gives อบเชยเทศ or อบเชยลังกา for Cinnamomum verum J.Presl, อบเชยจีน for Cinnamomum cassia (L.) J.Presl, อบเชยญวน for Cinnamomum loureiroi Nees, and อบเชยชวา or อบเชยอินโดนีเซีย for Cinnamomum burmanni (Nees & T.Nees) Blume (our translation of the report's wording).

Linked names. Three texts read link two of these names. The Singapore National Parks Board (NParks) record headed Cinnamomum verum lists "Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume" as a synonym. The title of ISO 6538:1997 includes "Cinnamomum aromaticum (Nees) syn. Cinnamomum cassia (Nees) ex Blume". BPOM's raw-material list gives "Cinnamomum aromaticum Nees" among the other names or synonyms of Cinnamomum cassia (our translation of the column heading). We make no claim about which plants the other names refer to in trade.

How Can One Name Cover Several Species?

Malaysia. Regulation 300 gives one legal name, "Cinnamon", to the inner bark of two named species, Cinnamomum zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia, and regulation 301 covers "the powder obtained by grinding the clean, dried, inner bark of Cinnamomum zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia".

Indonesia. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023, category 12.2.1, defines kayu manis as the dried product obtained from the inner bark of the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum or C. cassia or C. burmanii or C. sintok BI or Cassiavera (our translation). Its kayu manis bubuk entry ends the list "Cassia vera", as printed. The regulation's raw-material list has one row, Kayu Manis, with three species, Cinnamomum cassia, Cinnamomum burmanni and Cinnamomum sintoc, each with inner bark as the part that may be used (our translation). A search of the full regulation found no "Cinnamomum verum" and no "loureirii" or "loureiroi" for a Cinnamomum.

Codex. The same CCSCH template's list arranged by generic names puts four entries under the generic product "Cinnamon" with "Any of the below species", each with its own Latin name: "Indonesian, Padang, Batavia Cassia/Cinnamon", "Chinese Cassia/Cinnamon", "Vietnamese, Saigon Cassia/Cinnamon" and "Ceylon Cinnamon".

On these texts, the words cinnamon or cassia alone do not identify a single species.

What Is Cinnamon Called in Each Market?

Malaysia. The Malay text of the Food Regulations 1985 heads regulation 300 "Kayu manis" and regulation 301 "Serbuk kayu manis", where the English text says "Cinnamon" and "Cinnamon powder".

Indonesia. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 uses kayu manis and kayu manis bubuk, as described above.

Thailand. The Thai Industrial Standards Institute (TISI) open-data list of community product standards (dataset metadata modified 19 September 2025) gives standard 1324/2549 the Thai title อบเชยแห้ง and the English title "DRIED CINNAMON", and files it in its beverages group (our translation). The standard prints no botanical name.

Singapore. The NParks record for Cinnamomum verum, last updated 20 October 2023, gives the common names "Cinnamon, Kayu Manis, Cinnamon Bark Tree". The NParks record for Cinnamomum iners (Reinw. ex Nees & T.Nees) Blume, last updated 8 September 2026, also lists "Kayu Manis" among its common names, with "Wild Cinnamon" and "Kayu Manis Hutan".

China. The national standards information platform supervised by 国家市场监督管理总局 and 国家标准化管理委员会, China's market regulation and standardisation administrations (our translation), lists GB/T 30381-2013 with the Chinese title 桂皮 and the English title "Cassia", and GB/T 42780-2023 with the Chinese title 肉桂产品质量等级 and the English title "Quality grades for products of cassia".

Australia and New Zealand. Schedule 22 of the Food Standards Code, which describes foods and classes of foods for listed provisions of the Code (compilation No. 5, in force on 30 April 2026), lists "Cinnamon bark" as the only entry in the class "Spices, bark", and "Cassia buds" in the class "Spices, buds", without botanical names.

Which Forms Do the Texts Describe?

Pieces of bark and powder. Malaysia's regulation 300 covers "the dried piece of the inner bark", regulation 301 the powder, and regulation 286 adds that "Spice may be dried or ground or both". BPOM separately defines a dried inner-bark product and a powder obtained by grinding dried inner bark (our translation). Thai community product standard 1324/2549 covers products with อบเชย as their main ingredient, in dried pieces or ground to a powder, packed in containers for brewing as a drink, and says paper sachets may be used (our translation).

The US definition of spice in 21 CFR 101.22(a)(2) includes the phrases "whole, broken, or ground form" and "true to name", among other conditions, and its list of examples includes "Cinnamon". Singapore's Food Regulations, regulation 213, describe spices "(whether whole, partly ground or in powder form)" among other conditions (current version as at 11 October 2026).

Quills. A search of the texts read for this guide found no definition of quills, sticks or chips of cinnamon. The customs nomenclature below separates only "Neither crushed nor ground" from "Crushed or ground".

How Is Cinnamon Classified for Trade and Standards?

Trade classification. The "World Customs Organization" publication "Harmonized System Nomenclature 2022 Edition" heads 09.06 "Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers." Under "Neither crushed nor ground", subheading 0906.11 is "Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume)" and 0906.19 is "Other"; 0906.20 is "Crushed or ground". National tariff schedules were not checked.

International standards. ISO publishes ISO 6539:2014, Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume), Specification, and ISO 6538:1997, a specification for cassia whose title names Chinese, Indonesian and Vietnamese types. As read on 11 October 2026, the catalogue entries published by Albania's national standards body give ISO 6539:2014 a publication date of 10 February 2014 and the stage "Standard confirmed" from 19 May 2025, and give ISO 6538:1997 a publication date of 23 October 1997 and the stage "Standard to be revised" from 15 October 2024, with ISO/DIS 6538 in development. We did not read either standard.

Chinese national standards. The Chinese platform shows GB/T 30381-2013, 桂皮, published on 31 December 2013 and implemented from 22 June 2014, and GB/T 42780-2023, 肉桂产品质量等级, published on 23 May 2023 and implemented from 1 December 2023, both as current (our translation), as shown on 11 October 2026. We did not read either text.

How Can Cinnamon Appear on an Ingredient List?

In the United States, 21 CFR 101.22(h)(1) says spice "may be declared as “spice”" in the statement of ingredients. In Australia and New Zealand, Standard 1.2.4 (compilation No. 2, in force on 2 September 2025) says that, subject to Division 3 of Standard 1.2.3, a statement of ingredients must identify each ingredient other than offal by a name by which it is commonly known, a name that describes its true nature, or "a generic name for the ingredient that is specified in Schedule 10, in accordance with any conditions specified in that Schedule". Schedule 10 (compilation No. 4, in force on 25 February 2021) lists "spices" as a generic name with no condition for use entered.

In Singapore, regulation 5(4)(b) of the Food Regulations requires a food consisting of two or more ingredients to carry a list giving the appropriate designation of each ingredient other than any processing aid, and regulation 5(4)(b)(i) defines that designation as a specific name or description indicating its true nature "except as provided in the First Schedule". The First Schedule says "The following substances may be designated by generic terms in the list of ingredients" and lists "Any spice or mixture of spices or spice extracts not exceeding 2% by weight, either singly or in combination in the food" against "Spice, spices or mixed spices as applicable".

In Malaysia, regulation 11(1) applies to every package containing food for sale, unless otherwise provided in the Regulations. Where the food consists of two or more ingredients, other than water, food additives and added nutrient, paragraph (e) requires the appropriate designation of each ingredient in descending order of proportion by weight. Regulation 2 defines that designation as "a name or description, being a specific and not a generic name or description, which shall indicate to the prospective purchaser the true nature of the food to which it is applied".

Thai standard 1324/2549 requires every container to show at least the product name, with อบเชยแห้ง among the examples, the main ingredients and the net weight, among other details, and says any foreign-language text must have the same meaning as the Thai (our translation).

Because the US, Australian and New Zealand, and Singapore provisions allow a category name within their stated conditions, a finished-product label might not name cinnamon at all, let alone the species. Ask for the botanical name on the specification and on each lot's certificate of analysis instead.

What Should You Ask a Cinnamon Supplier?

• Botanical name. Ask for the full Latin name, with its author, on the specification and on each lot's certificate of analysis. Cinnamon, cassia, kayu manis, อบเชย, 桂皮 and 肉桂 are market or title names; ask for the botanical name as well.
• The name your market's text prints. If the product is sold against Malaysia's regulations 300 and 301, ask which of the two named species it is. If it is sold against BPOM category 12.2.1, ask which of the five names in the kayu manis entry it matches.
• Cinnamon or cassia on the paperwork. If a document says cinnamon, ask which species; 21 CFR 182.10 prints the same botanical name under a cinnamon row and a cassia row.
• Form. Ask whether the lot is pieces, quills, broken or ground, and which definition it is written against; the texts read define no quills.
• Trade code. Ask for the HS subheading on the shipping documents and why it was chosen: 0906.11 names only Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume, 0906.19 is "Other", and 0906.20 covers crushed or ground product.
• Standards cited. If a specification cites ISO 6539, ISO 6538, GB/T 30381 or GB/T 42780, ask for the edition and the clauses relied on: the ISO 6538:1997 catalogue record read on 11 October 2026 shows the stage "Standard to be revised", with a new draft in development.

What Is Kayu Manis?

Kayu manis is the Malay heading of regulation 300 of Malaysia's Food Regulations 1985 (Malay text updated until August 2026), where the English text says "Cinnamon" and covers Cinnamomum zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia. BPOM Regulation 13 of 2023 uses kayu manis for a product from five named sources (our translation), and NParks lists Kayu Manis as a common name on its records for Cinnamomum verum and Cinnamomum iners (Reinw. ex Nees & T.Nees) Blume.

Does Malaysia's Cinnamon Definition Include Cinnamomum cassia?

Malaysia's regulation 300 defines cinnamon as "the dried piece of the inner bark of the plant Cinnamomum zeylanicum or Cinnamomum cassia" (English text updated until August 2026), so both named species fall under the one name, cinnamon. Neither regulation 300 nor 301 uses cassia as a product name.

Which HS Code Covers Cinnamon?

In the "Harmonized System Nomenclature 2022 Edition", heading 09.06 covers "Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers.": subheading 0906.11 for "Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume)" and 0906.19 for "Other" when neither crushed nor ground, and 0906.20 when crushed or ground. The heading does not mention cassia; national tariff schedules were not checked.

Can an Ingredient List Say Spice Instead of Cinnamon?

In the US, Australian and New Zealand, and Singapore texts read, yes, within their stated conditions. 21 CFR 101.22(h)(1) says spice "may be declared as “spice”". Australia and New Zealand's Schedule 10 lists "spices" as a generic name with no condition entered. Singapore's First Schedule allows "Spice, spices or mixed spices as applicable" for spices "not exceeding 2% by weight, either singly or in combination in the food". Malaysia's regulation 2 defines the designation required on its ingredient lists as a specific, not a generic, name or description; regulation 11(1) applies unless the Regulations provide otherwise.