Guidance on using the Register of Flavouring Authorisations

Introduction

This electronic register is for information purposes. It sets out a list of flavourings permitted for use in or on food in Great Britain (GB). Smoke flavouring primary products are listed in a separate section of the register as they are controlled by different legislation (retained EU Regulation No. 2065/2003). The register provides detailed information on each of the approved flavourings. The register does not replace retained EU Regulation No. 1334/2008, which remains the legal basis for the placing on the market and use of flavourings.

Understanding the flavouring categories

There are 6 different categories of flavourings defined in the legislation:

• flavouring substances – a defined chemical substance with flavouring properties;
• flavouring preparations – a product, other than a flavouring substance, obtained from:
  1. food by appropriate physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes either in the raw state of the material or after processing for human consumption by one or more of the traditional food preparation processes listed in Annex II;
  2. material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin, other than food, by appropriate physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes, the material being taken as such or prepared by one or more of the traditional food preparation processes listed in Annex II;
• thermal process flavourings – a product obtained after heat treatment from a mixture of ingredients not necessarily having flavouring properties themselves, of which at least one contains nitrogen (amino) and another is a reducing sugar; the ingredients for the production of thermal process flavourings may be:
  1. food
  2. source material other than food;
• smoke flavouring – a product obtained by fractionation and purification of a condensed smoke yielding primary smoke condensates, primary tar fractions and/or derived smoke flavourings as defined in points (1), (2) and (4) of Article 3 of retained EU Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003
• flavour precursors – a product, not necessarily having flavouring properties itself, intentionally added to food for the sole purpose of producing flavour by breaking down or reacting with other components during food processing; it may be obtained from:
  1. food
  2. source material other than food;
• other flavourings – a flavouring added or intended to be added to food in order to impart odour and/or taste and which does not fall under definitions above

All flavouring substances and ‘other flavourings’ require approval prior to use. For the other types of flavourings, only those that are made from non-food source materials or which do not meet production conditions set out in legislation require authorisation.

Annex I of retained EU Regulation No. 1334/2008 sets out the list of authorised flavourings. Part A covers ca. 2500 flavouring substances and Part E covers one flavouring which falls under the category 'other flavourings' FL 21.001.

Part B is flavouring preparations, Part C thermal process flavourings, Part D flavour precursor and Part F Source material (namely non-food source materials) are blank. Therefore this register only lists the authorised flavouring substances and one 'other flavouring'.

Search

The register enables a free-text search of entries which may be filtered for the different types of flavouring, for example, other flavouring or source material. If a filter is selected but there is no authorisation then it will state "No results were found matching your criteria". This means there are no authorisations under this entry.

Summary product page

The summary page lists all the approved flavourings and includes:

1. the name and unique code (FL No.) of each flavouring
2. Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number - CAS No.
3. Joint WHO/FAO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) number. JECFA also evaluate the safety of flavourings - JECFA No.
4. purity - this is at least 95% unless otherwise set out in this field
5. restrictions of use
6. footnote

You must check the individual product page to find out the notes (under additional details) for flavouring use.

Individual product page

Each flavouring entry on the register includes its chemical name, along with the:

1. unique code for each flavouring - for example; FL No. 01.001
2. Chemical Abstract Service (CAS) registry number – CAS No.
3. Joint WHO/FAO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) number. JECFA also evaluate the safety of flavourings – JECFA No.
4. Council of Europe (CoE) number - the Council of Europe has evaluated the safety of some flavouring substances – CoE No.
5. reference bodies - which scientific body evaluated the safety of the flavourings. This is either JECFA, CoE, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Scientific Committee for Food (SCF) or a combination of these bodies for ones approved prior to 31 December 2020. After this date flavourings are approved by ‘the Authority’ which means the Food Standards Agency (England and Wales) and Food Standards Scotland (Scotland). Field referred to as ‘reference’ within dataset
6. purity - this is at least 95% unless otherwise set out in this field. Referred to ‘purity of the named substance’ within dataset.
7. Authorisation end date – The date which the authorisation was removed from the domestic list.
8. Transitional provision – any transitional provisions for flavourings that were removed from the domestic list. However the relevant legislation should be referred to rather than the summary text provided here. Referred to as ‘TransitionalProvisions’ within dataset.
9. restrictions of use - which foods the flavourings can be used in and maximum levels. If this states not specified then the use of flavouring substances is permitted in accordance with good manufacturing practices. Referred to as ‘Restriction note’ in dataset.
10. Notes – any general notes regarding which forms of flavourings can be used, maximum levels, carry over rules.
11. footnote – This will show if the risk analysis process is still ongoing. Footnotes are numbered to correspond to ‘flavouring footnotes’ tab rather than written in full.

List of flavouring substances whose authorisations have been removed from the domestic list

The authorisations for the following flavouring substances have been removed at the request of the flavourings industry. These are all flavourings for which the evaluation process was still ongoing i.e. they have the footnote “Evaluation to be completed by the Authority”. The removals were not due to safety issues.

As these flavourings were not widely used in food in the UK or internationally, the UK flavourings industry stated they would not provide any additional data necessary for their evaluation to be completed and so requested the authorisations be removed from the domestic list. However, as transitional provisions have been set in legislation, which allows the flavourings themselves and foods containing them to remain on the GB market after the authorisations have been removed from the domestic list, they have not been deleted from the register.

For the relevant flavourings listed in the table below, each entry has been updated with the date the authorisations were removed and a brief description of the transitional provisions.

Transitional provisions

The transitional provisions for the 22 flavouring substances which were removed from the domestic list on 28 June 2024 are summarised below. However the relevant legislation should be checked for the legal text – Regulation 5 of The Food Additives and Novel Foods (Authorisations and Miscellaneous Amendments) and Food Flavourings (Removal of Authorisations) (England) Regulations 2024 (2024 No. 685), Regulation 5 of the corresponding Wales WSI (2024 No. 741 (W. 102)) and Regulation 7 of the Scotland SSI (2024 No. 156).

The transitional provisions allows foods (including the 22 flavouring substances themselves) to remain on the market until their best before or use by date if the foods (or flavourings) were already lawfully present in the UK or already in transit to UK, before the 28 June 2024.

In addition, foods which contain those flavourings (or the flavourings themselves) as mentioned above, which were permitted to remain on the market after 28 June 2024, can used in foods which themselves can be placed on the market after 28 June 2024 and remain on sale until their best before or use by date.

For example, if the flavourings were permitted to be present in a sauce that was on the market in UK or in transit to UK before 28 June 2024 then that sauce could be added to another food (e.g. a dessert or ice cream) and placed on the market after 28 June 2024. This only applies if the sauce was within its best before or use by date. The dessert or ice cream can only remain on the market until their best before or use by date.

Use levels and related notes

Maximum use levels are set out for each food category and relate to the levels that may be used in the food as it is marketed. The only exception is for dried or concentrated foods that are reconstituted or diluted before use.

For some flavourings, for example FL No. 05.016, myrtenal, only food categories are listed and not any numerical limits. This means the flavouring substance can only be used in the named food categories in accordance with good manufacturing practices.

Note 1 states that ammonium, sodium, potassium and calcium salts, as well as chlorides, carbonates and sulphates, are covered by the generic substances- providing that they have flavouring properties. For acids, for example, the sodium salt would also be permitted if it has flavouring properties. This means for FL No. 08.002 both acetic acid (as listed) and sodium acetate (as salt of acetic acid) would be allowed.

Note 2 states that if the authorised flavouring substance is a racemate (an equal mixture of optical isomers), both the R- and S- form shall also be authorised for use. If only the R-form has been authorised, then the S-form is not covered by this authorisation and vice versa. Some substances can occur in different structural forms. As different structural forms can have different properties, this note ensures only those where the safety have been assessed can be used in food.

Note 3 states that the maximum levels refer to levels in or on food as marketed. However, for dried and/or concentrated foods which need to be reconstituted, the maximum levels shall apply to the food as reconstituted according to the instructions in the labelling- taking into account the minimum dilution factor.

Note 4 covers carry over rules i.e., when a flavouring is permitted in a food which is not listed under the restrictions of use for that flavouring. There are two rules:

• a flavouring is allowed in a flavoured oil but not sauces. The flavouring can be present in the sauce if it is permitted in an ingredient of the sauce. The level of flavouring in the sauce must not be greater than would be introduced using the oil under proper technological conditions and good manufacturing practice.
• a flavouring is allowed in sauces but not a flavoured oil. The flavouring could be added to the oil, provided it is only used in the production of the sauce.

Food category

The food categories used for flavourings are based on those initially used in the food additive legislation (retained EU Regulation 1333/2008). However, whilst the food categories in the additives legislation were revised over time, the same revisions did not apply to flavourings. These changes are not, therefore, reflected in the flavourings legislation.

GB guidance on the food categories is in development and a link to the guidance will be provided in the future.

Table of categories and functional groups