Salicylaldehyde be prepared from the corresponding phenol by the Duff reaction, or by treatment with paraformaldehyde in the presence of magnesium chloride and a base. Salicylaldehyde was identified as a characteristic aroma component of buckwheat. It is also one of the components of castoreum, the exudate from the castor sacs of the mature North American beaver ("Castor canadensis") and the European beaver ("Castor fiber"), used in perfumery. Furthermore, salicylaldehyde occurs in the larval defensive secretions of several leaf beetle species that belong the subtribe Chrysomelina. An example for a leaf beetle species that produces salicylaldehyde is the red poplar leaf beetle
Regulation of food and dietary supplements by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerns about the safety of new food additives. The amendment established the designation of "generally recognized as safe", which refers to chemicals or substances which can be used as food additives without further evaluation or testing just because they have been long used and there is broad acceptance of their use. New food additives would be subject to testing including by the "Delaney clause". The Delaney clause was a provision in the amendment which said that if a substance were found to cause cancer in man or animal, then it could not be used as a food additive. The Dietary