A black treat made from the dried root of a Mediterranean plant, liquorice can be sweet, salty or slightly bitter. Its characteristic flavour comes from the chemical compound glycyrrhizin, which is much sweeter than table sugar. As tasty as it may be (many people can’t stand it though), overconsumption of liquorice can cause health problems. So can ingesting too much sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride), which is used in salty liquorice. What are the possible adverse effects of liquorice? Who’s especially at risk? And how much is safe to eat? “To answer the question of liquorice’s harmfulness, you…