It’s official: smoke flavourings will soon no longer be authorised in the EU. Here’s an update with Flavour Manager.
Smoke flavourings have been the subject of specific European regulations. Listed since 2013 in EU regulation 1321/2013, there are 10 of them, numbered SF-001 to SF-010. At the time, the EU provided for a 10-year authorisation, renewable on request, with restrictions on use by type of foodstuff that have not changed since.
At the beginning of 2024, at the end of the initial 10-year period, 8 of the 10 smoke flavourings listed had been the subject of renewal applications from their producers. The remaining two (SF-007 and SF-010) are therefore no longer authorised.
An EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) assessment of the 8 concluded that there was a risk of genotoxicity. On the basis of this assessment, the EU has decided to gradually ban all smoke flavourings authorised to date. The timescales for the ban take account of the diversity of uses of smoke flavourings, to allow enough time for users of these flavourings to change their manufacturing processes.
As a result, finished products containing smoke flavourings may be placed on the market until 1 July 2026. This date is extended to 1 July 2029 for products in food categories 1.7 (Cheese and cheese products), 8 (Meat), 9.2 (Processed fish and fish products, including molluscs and crustaceans) and 9.3 (Fish roe). The limit values for these flavourings in finished products, by food category, continue to apply.
In Flavour Manager, smoke flavourings SF-007 and SF-010 are already listed as prohibited. The bans by type of food will come into force in the database on the dates stipulated in the regulations (2026 and 2029). Finally, we will be contacting our users individually with a list of their flavourings containing smoke flavourings, to help them identify the changes they need to implement.
Don’t hesitate to contact Paul if you have any questions: paul@flavourmanager.com