Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Natural fl avouring substances
Regulation (EC) No. 1334/2008, Article 3.2(c)
'Natural fl avouring substance' shall mean a fl avouring 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 fl avouring
substances correspond to substances that are naturally present and have
been identifi ed in nature.
This defi nition addresses the issue of the natural status of processed foods and
recognises that foods that are cooked and the fl avouring substances that are
formed during their cooking are natural. Individual fl avouring substances derived
after processing for human consumption are natural so long as the source materials
used to produce them are natural, they have been found in nature and the processes
used to form them adhere to what are called 'traditional food preparation processes'
listed in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No. 1334/2008 (Table 1.1). 'Traditional' is
viewed as processes that have a history of use and are familiar to the general
public, and can be either domestic or industrial.
The last sentence in the defi nition of natural fl avouring substances above
referring to substances identifi ed in nature also needs some clarifi cation because
many of the fl avour chemicals formed in cooking processes do not exist in nature
prior to cooking. The legal difference in the EU between raw and processed
sources of food recognises that they either intrinsically contain the fl avour
chemicals prior to cooking or that they generate the fl avour chemicals during the
food preparation process; both are regarded as natural.
Table 1.1
ANNEX II Regulation (EC) No. 1334/2008: List of traditional food
preparation processes
Chopping
Steeping
Heating, cooking, baking, frying (up
to 240°C at atmospheric pressure) and
pressure cooking (up to 120°C)
Coating
Cutting
Cooling
Drying
Distillation/rectifi cation
Evaporation
Emulsifi cation
Fermentation
Extraction, including solvent extraction in
accordance with Directive 88/344/EEC
Grinding
Filtration
Infusion
Maceration
Microbiological processes
Mixing
Peeling
Percolation
Pressing
Refrigeration/freezing
Roasting/grilling
Squeezing
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