Legal provisions of COM(2006)427 - Flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
dossier | COM(2006)427 - Flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods. |
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document | COM(2006)427 |
date | December 16, 2008 |
Contents
- CHAPTER I - SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
- CHAPTER II - CONDITIONS FOR USE OF FLAVOURINGS, FOOD INGREDIENTS WITH FLAVOURING PROPERTIES AND SOURCE MATERIALS
- CHAPTER III - COMMUNITY LIST OF FLAVOURINGS AND SOURCE MATERIALS APPROVED FOR USE IN OR ON FOODS
- CHAPTER IV - LABELLING
- CHAPTER V - PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
- CHAPTER VI - TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I - SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation lays down rules on flavourings and food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods with a view to ensuring the effective functioning of the internal market whilst ensuring a high level of protection of human health and a high level of consumer protection, including the protection of consumer interests and fair practices in food trade, taking into account, where appropriate, the protection of the environment.
For those purposes, this Regulation provides for:
(a) | a Community list of flavourings and source materials approved for use in and on foods, set out in Annex I (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Community list’); |
(b) | conditions of use of flavourings and food ingredients with flavouring properties in and on foods; |
(c) | rules on the labelling of flavourings. |
Article 2
Scope
1. This Regulation shall apply to:
(a) | flavourings which are used or intended to be used in or on foods, without prejudice to more specific provisions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003; |
(b) | food ingredients with flavouring properties; |
(c) | food containing flavourings and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties; |
(d) | source materials for flavourings and/or source materials for food ingredients with flavouring properties. |
2. This Regulation shall not apply to:
(a) | substances which have exclusively a sweet, sour or salty taste; |
(b) | raw foods; |
(c) | non-compound foods and mixtures such as, but not exclusively, fresh, dried or frozen spices and/or herbs, mixtures of tea and mixtures for infusion as such as long as they have not been used as food ingredients. |
Article 3
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions laid down in Regulations (EC) No 178/2002 and (EC) No 1829/2003 shall apply.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall also apply:
(a) | ‘flavourings’ shall mean products:
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(b) | ‘flavouring substance’ shall mean a defined chemical substance with flavouring properties; |
(c) | ‘natural flavouring substance’ shall mean a flavouring substance obtained by appropriate physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin either in the raw state or after processing for human consumption by one or more of the traditional food preparation processes listed in Annex II. Natural flavouring substances correspond to substances that are naturally present and have been identified in nature; |
(d) | ‘flavouring preparation’ shall mean a product, other than a flavouring substance, obtained from:
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(e) | ‘thermal process flavouring’ shall mean 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:
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(f) | ‘smoke flavouring’ shall mean 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 Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003; |
(g) | ‘flavour precursor’ shall mean 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:
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(h) | ‘other flavouring’ shall mean 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 (b) to (g); |
(i) | ‘food ingredient with flavouring properties’ shall mean a food ingredient other than flavourings which may be added to food for the main purpose of adding flavour to it or modifying its flavour and which contributes significantly to the presence in food of certain naturally occurring undesirable substances; |
(j) | ‘source material’ shall mean material of vegetable, animal, microbiological or mineral origin from which flavourings or food ingredients with flavouring properties are produced; it may be:
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(k) | ‘appropriate physical process’ shall mean a physical process which does not intentionally modify the chemical nature of the components of the flavouring, without prejudice to the listing of traditional food preparation processes in Annex II, and does not involve, inter alia, the use of singlet oxygen, ozone, inorganic catalysts, metal catalysts, organometallic reagents and/or UV radiation. |
3. For the purpose of the definitions listed in paragraph 2(d), (e), (g) and (j), source materials for which hitherto there is significant evidence of use for the production of flavourings shall be considered as food for the purpose of this Regulation.
4. Flavourings may contain food additives as permitted by Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 and/or other food ingredients incorporated for technological purposes.
CHAPTER II - CONDITIONS FOR USE OF FLAVOURINGS, FOOD INGREDIENTS WITH FLAVOURING PROPERTIES AND SOURCE MATERIALS
Article 4
General conditions for use of flavourings or food ingredients with flavouring properties
Only flavourings or food ingredients with flavouring properties which meet the following conditions may be used in or on foods:
(a) | they do not, on the basis of the scientific evidence available, pose a safety risk to the health of the consumer; and |
(b) | their use does not mislead the consumer. |
Article 5
Prohibition of non-compliant flavourings and/or non-compliant food
No person shall place on the market a flavouring or any food in which such a flavouring and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties are present if their use does not comply with this Regulation.
Article 6
Presence of certain substances
1. Substances listed in Part A of Annex III shall not be added as such to food.
2. Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, maximum levels of certain substances, naturally present in flavourings and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties, in the compound foods listed in Part B of Annex III shall not be exceeded as a result of the use of flavourings and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties in and on those foods. The maximum levels of the substances set out in Annex III shall apply to foods as marketed, unless otherwise stated. By way of derogation from this principle, 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 on the label, taking into account the minimum dilution factor.
3. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 2 may be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2), following the opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Authority’), where necessary.
Article 7
Use of certain source materials
1. Source materials listed in Part A of Annex IV shall not be used for the production of flavourings and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties.
2. Flavourings and/or food ingredients with flavouring properties produced from source materials listed in Part B of Annex IV may be used only under the conditions indicated in that Annex.
Article 8
Flavourings and food ingredients with flavouring properties for which evaluation and approval are not required
1. The following flavourings and food ingredients with flavouring properties may be used in or on foods without an evaluation and approval under this Regulation, provided that they comply with Article 4:
(a) | flavouring preparations referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(i); |
(b) | thermal process flavourings referred to in Article 3(2)(e)(i) which comply with the conditions for the production of thermal process flavourings and maximum levels for certain substances in thermal process flavourings set out in Annex V; |
(c) | flavour precursors referred to in Article 3(2)(g)(i); |
(d) | food ingredients with flavouring properties. |
2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, if the Commission, a Member State or the Authority expresses doubts concerning the safety of a flavouring or food ingredient with flavouring properties referred to in paragraph 1, a risk assessment of such flavouring or food ingredient with flavouring properties shall be carried out by the Authority. Articles 4, 5 and 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 shall then apply mutatis mutandis. If necessary, the Commission shall adopt measures, following the opinion of the Authority, which are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it, in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 21(3). Such measures shall be laid down in Annexes III, IV and/or V where appropriate. On imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission may use the urgency procedure referred to in Article 21(4).
CHAPTER III - COMMUNITY LIST OF FLAVOURINGS AND SOURCE MATERIALS APPROVED FOR USE IN OR ON FOODS
Article 9
Flavourings and source materials for which an evaluation and approval is required
This Chapter shall apply to:
(a) | flavouring substances; |
(b) | flavouring preparations referred to in Article 3(2)(d)(ii); |
(c) | thermal process flavourings obtained by heating ingredients which fall partially or totally within Article 3(2)(e)(ii) and/or for which the conditions for the production of thermal process flavourings and/or the maximum levels for certain undesirable substances set out in Annex V are not met; |
(d) | flavour precursors referred to in Article 3(2)(g)(ii); |
(e) | other flavourings referred to in Article 3(2)(h); |
(f) | source materials other than food referred to in Article 3(2)(j)(ii). |
Article 10
Community list of flavourings and source materials
Of the flavourings and source materials referred to in Article 9, only those included in the Community list may be placed on the market as such and used in or on foods under the conditions of use specified therein, where applicable.
Article 11
Inclusion of flavourings and source materials in the Community list
1. A flavouring or source material may be included in the Community list, in accordance with the procedure laid down by Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008, only if it complies with the conditions set out in Article 4 of this Regulation.
2. The entry for a flavouring or source material in the Community list shall specify:
(a) | the identification of the flavouring or the source material approved; |
(b) | where necessary, the conditions under which the flavouring may be used. |
3. The Community list shall be amended in accordance with the procedure referred to in Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008.
Article 12
Flavourings or source materials falling within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003
1. A flavouring or source material falling within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 may be included in the Community list in Annex I in accordance with this Regulation only when it is covered by an authorisation in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003.
2. When a flavouring already included in the Community list is produced from a different source falling within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, it will not require a new authorisation under this Regulation, as long as the new source is covered by an authorisation in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003 and the flavouring complies with the specifications established under this Regulation.
Article 13
Interpretation decisions
Where necessary, it may be decided in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2):
(a) | whether or not a given substance or mixture of substances, material or type of food falls within the categories listed in Article 2(1); |
(b) | to which specific category, defined in Article 3(2)(b) to (j), a given substance belongs; |
(c) | whether or not a particular product belongs to a food category or is a food referred to in Annex I or Annex III, Part B. |
CHAPTER IV - LABELLING
Article 14
Labelling of flavourings not intended for sale to the final consumer
1. Flavourings not intended for sale to the final consumer may only be marketed with the labelling provided for in Articles 15 and 16, which must be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible. The information provided for in Article 15 shall be in a language easily understandable to purchasers.
2. Within its own territory, the Member State in which the product is marketed may, in accordance with the Treaty, stipulate that the information provided for in Article 15 shall be given in one or more of the official languages of the Community, to be determined by that Member State. This shall not preclude such information from being indicated in several languages.
Article 15
General labelling requirements for flavourings not intended for sale to the final consumer
1. Where flavourings not intended for sale to the final consumer are sold singly or mixed with each other and/or with other food ingredients and/or with other substances added to them in accordance with Article 3(4), their packaging or containers shall bear the following information:
(a) | the sales description: either the word ‘flavouring’ or a more specific name or description of the flavouring; |
(b) | the statement either ‘for food’ or the statement ‘restricted use in food’ or a more specific reference to its intended food use; |
(c) | if necessary, the special conditions for storage and/or use; |
(d) | a mark identifying the batch or lot; |
(e) | in descending order of weight, a list of:
|
(f) | the name or business name and address of the manufacturer, packager or seller; |
(g) | an indication of the maximum quantity of each component or group of components subject to quantitative limitation in food and/or appropriate information in clear and easily understandable terms enabling the purchaser to comply with this Regulation or other relevant Community law; |
(h) | the net quantity; |
(i) | a date of minimum durability or use-by-date; |
(j) | where relevant, information on a flavouring or other substances referred to in this Article and listed in Annex IIIa to Directive 2000/13/EC as regards the indication of the ingredients present in foodstuffs. |
2. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, the information required in points (e) and (g) of that paragraph may appear merely on the documents relating to the consignment which are to be supplied with or prior to the delivery, provided that the indication ‘not for retail sale’ appears on an easily visible part of the packaging or container of the product in question.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, where flavourings are supplied in tankers, all of the information may appear merely on the accompanying documents relating to the consignment which are to be supplied with the delivery.
Article 16
Specific requirements for use of the term ‘natural’
1. If the term ‘natural’ is used to describe a flavouring in the sales description referred to in Article 15(1)(a) the provisions of paragraphs 2 to 6 of this Article shall apply.
2. The term ‘natural’ for the description of a flavouring may only be used if the flavouring component comprises only flavouring preparations and/or natural flavouring substances.
3. The term ‘natural flavouring substance(s)’ may only be used for flavourings in which the flavouring component contains exclusively natural flavouring substances.
4. The term ‘natural’ may only be used in combination with a reference to a food, food category or a vegetable or animal flavouring source if the flavouring component has been obtained exclusively or by at least 95 % by w/w from the source material referred to.
The description shall read ‘natural “food(s) or food category or source(s)” flavouring’.
5. The term ‘natural “food(s) or food category or source(s)” flavouring with other natural flavourings’ may only be used if the flavouring component is partially derived from the source material referred to, the flavour of which can easily be recognised.
6. The term ‘natural flavouring’ may only be used if the flavouring component is derived from different source materials and where a reference to the source materials would not reflect their flavour or taste.
Article 17
Labelling of flavourings intended for sale to the final consumer
1. Without prejudice to Directive 2000/13/EC, Council Directive 89/396/EEC of 14 June 1989 on indications or marks identifying the lot to which a foodstuff belongs (18) and Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003, flavourings sold singly or mixed with each other and/or with other food ingredients and/or to which other substances are added and which are intended for sale to the final consumer may be marketed only if their packaging contains the statement either ‘for food’ or ‘restricted use in food’ or a more specific reference to their intended food use, which must be easily visible, clearly legible and indelible.
2. If the term ‘natural’ is used to describe a flavouring in the sales description referred to in Article 15(1)(a), Article 16 shall apply.
Article 18
Other labelling requirements
Articles 14 to 17 shall be without prejudice to more detailed or more extensive laws, regulations or administrative provisions regarding weights and measures or applying to the presentation, classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations or applying to the transport of such substances and preparations.
CHAPTER V - PROCEDURAL PROVISIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Article 19
Reporting by the food business operators
1. A producer or user of a flavouring substance, or the representative of such producer or user, shall, at the request of the Commission, inform it of the amount of the substance added to foods in the Community in a period of 12 months. The information provided in this context shall be treated as confidential insofar as this information is not required for the safety assessment.
Information on the use levels for specific food categories in the Community shall be made available to Member States by the Commission.
2. Where applicable, for a flavouring already approved under this Regulation which is prepared by production methods or starting materials significantly different from those included in the risk assessment of the Authority, a producer or user shall, before marketing the flavouring, submit to the Commission the necessary data to allow an evaluation of the flavouring to be undertaken by the Authority with regard to the modified production method or characteristics.
3. A producer or user of flavourings and/or source materials shall inform the Commission immediately of any new scientific or technical information which is known and accessible to him and which might affect the assessment of the safety of the flavouring substance.
4. Detailed rules for the implementation of paragraph 1 shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2).
Article 20
Monitoring and reporting by the Member States
1. Member States shall establish systems to monitor the consumption and use of flavourings set out in the Community list and the consumption of the substances listed in Annex III on a risk-based approach, and shall report their findings with appropriate frequency to the Commission and to the Authority.
2. After the Authority has been consulted, a common methodology for the gathering by Member States of information on the consumption and use of flavourings set out in the Community list and of the substances listed in Annex III shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure referred to in Article 21(2) by 20 January 2011.
Article 21
Committee
1. The Commission shall be assisted by the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health.
2. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Articles 5 and 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
The period laid down in Article 5(6) of Decision 1999/468/EC shall be set at three months.
3. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1) to (4) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
4. Where reference is made to this paragraph, Article 5a(1), (2), (4) and (6) and Article 7 of Decision 1999/468/EC shall apply, having regard to the provisions of Article 8 thereof.
Article 22
Amendments to Annexes II to V
Amendments to Annexes II to V to this Regulation to reflect scientific and technical progress which are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 21(3), following the opinion of the Authority, where necessary.
On imperative grounds of urgency, the Commission may use the urgency procedure referred to in Article 21(4).
Article 23
Community financing of harmonised policies
The legal basis for the financing of measures resulting from this Regulation shall be Article 66(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004.
CHAPTER VI - TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 24
Repeals
1. Directive 88/388/EEC, Decision 88/389/EEC and Directive 91/71/EEC shall be repealed from 20 January 2011.
2. Regulation (EC) No 2232/96 shall be repealed from the date of application of the list referred to in Article 2(2) of that Regulation.
3. References to the repealed acts shall be construed as references to this Regulation.
Article 25
Introduction of the list of flavouring substances into the Community list of flavourings and source materials and transitional regime
1. The Community list shall be established by introducing the list of flavouring substances referred to in Article 2(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2232/96 into Annex I to this Regulation at the time of its adoption.
2. Pending the establishment of the Community list, Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 shall apply for the evaluation and approval of flavouring substances which are not covered by the evaluation programme provided for in Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 2232/96.
By way of derogation from that procedure, the period of nine months referred to in Article 5(1) and Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 shall not apply to such evaluation and approval.
3. Any appropriate transitional measures which are designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation, inter alia, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 21(3).
Article 26
Amendments to Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91
Article 2(1) is hereby amended as follows:
1. | in point (a), the first sub-indent of the third indent shall be replaced by the following:
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2. | in point (b), the first sub-indent of the second indent shall be replaced by the following:
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3. | in point (c), the first sub-indent of the second indent shall be replaced by the following:
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Article 27
Amendment to Regulation (EC) No 2232/96
Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2232/96 shall be replaced by the following:
‘1. The list of flavouring substances referred to in Article 2(2) shall be adopted in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 7 by 31 December 2010 at the latest.’.
Article 28
Amendments to Regulation (EC) No 110/2008
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 is hereby amended as follows:
1. | in Article 5(2), point (c) shall be replaced by the following:
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2. | in Article 5(3), point (c) shall be replaced by the following:
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3. | in Annex I, point (9) shall be replaced by the following:
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4. | Annex II shall be amended as follows:
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Article 29
Amendment to Directive 2000/13/EC
In Directive 2000/13/EC, Annex III shall be replaced by the following:
‘ANNEX III
DESIGNATION OF FLAVOURINGS IN THE LIST OF INGREDIENTS
1. | Without prejudice to paragraph 2, flavourings shall be designated by the terms
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2. | The term “natural” for the description of flavourings shall be used in accordance with Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008. |
Article 30
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 20 January 2011.
Article 10 shall apply from 18 months after the date of application of the Community list.
Articles 26 and 28 shall apply from the date of application of the Community list.
Article 22 shall apply from 20 January 2009. Foods lawfully placed on the market or labelled prior to 20 January 2011 which do not comply with this Regulation may be marketed until their date of minimum durability or use-by-date.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.