Completion by EFSA of Stage I of flavouring substances review

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has reported the completion of Stage I of a comprehensive review of flavouring substances used in foodstuffs marketed throughout the European Union.

At present, 2,067 substances have been analysed and evaluated. Of these, 1,667 were deemed to not cause any safety concerns and will make their way onto a final list of accepted flavourings. EFSA has requested further information on a further 400 flavouring substances, and will revisit these once more specific scientific data has been provided.

This review is highly significant as it once again highlight’s EFSA’s (and indeed the EU food regulatory system’s) focus on consumer protection and informing the consumer to the greatest degree possible. Also, it will hopefully soon give rise to a comprehensive online database of “safe” flavouring substances. This will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable tool for all food market stakeholders.

However, the review process also gives rise to a number of questions that will particularly haunt food manufacturers, who will in the near future be forced to face the possibility that the use in foodstuffs of certain flavouring substances will be banned once the EFSA database is published. A possible result (and one that will surely be in every food manufacturer’s worst nightmares) will be that certain products will have to be pulled from the market, as a result of a lack of suitable – or “safe” alternatives to the flavourings currently used.

Nonetheless, the trend so far appears positive. It therefore remains to be seen, within the next couple of years, what practical impact the flavourings review will have on manufacturer morale and the food market in general.