Brussels, 10/10/2003 (Agence Europe) - The new regulation on smoke flavourings, which will harmonise the widely differing national rules in the Union, was formally adopted on 9 October, by qualified majority, in the Council. The United Kingdom abstained because it had its doubts about the relevance of the legal basis retained (article 95, Internal Market, rather than article 308 for authorisation procedures). The regulation will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. Member States will have eighteen months to apply it, taking them to early 2005.
It is worth noting that smoke flavourings, products made from smoke condensates, give a smoky flavour to foodstuffs such as meat, fish and snacks. The new regulation establishes a safety assessment system and an authorisation procedure for primary smoke condensates and primary tar fractions which can be used as they are or on food, or in the production of derived smoke flavourings. In virtue of this regulation, a manufacturer requesting authorisation for a smoke condensate should supply precise data on the method of production and on the stages then involved in producing derived smoke flavourings. Information should also be provided on the planned use for these foodstuffs or specific food categories, on chemical properties, toxicological studies, and validated sampling and detection methods. The scientific assessment will be carried out by the European Food Safety Agency, in full transparency.
David Byrne, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, said in a press release: "I welcome the adoption of these safety measures for smoke flavourings. This legislation aims to make consumer safety paramount, and at the same time resolves the problem of the divergence of national rules that manufacturers wanting to sell their products are currently faced with".