Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
interpretation, and the general principle is that if the source material is natural
then the end product is natural and it appears that a greater level of chemical
processing is tolerated. This means that some fl avouring substances that are
classifi ed as natural in the US may not qualify for that status in the EU.
We can conclude therefore that there are major disagreements in the defi nition of
natural between the EU and the US covering a wide range of fl avouring types
including fl avouring substances, thermal process fl avourings, fl avour precursors and
smoke fl avourings. This presents great diffi culties for product developers and those in
the industry involved with labelling globally recognised products. The US, however,
does not intend to delve any further into the defi nition of 'natural' because the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has no intention of extending it wider to foods and
other food ingredients and additives because of the sheer diffi culties involved and the
overall ambiguity of the term (Nalubola 2008). This is despite receiving two petitions
requesting it to clearly defi ne the term to prevent lawsuits against food companies
accused of misleading consumers. Instead the FDA has adopted an approach to
discourage the food industry from using of the term 'natural' in product labelling
because it may unjustifi ably imply that a food is of superior quality compared to
similar foods. And that is the nub of the issue, that 'natural' has comfortable, heart-
warming implications for consumers that are inherently misleading.
1.4 The International Organization of the Flavour Industry
guidelines for the interpretation of 'natural'
The International Organization of the Flavour Industry (IOFI) is an international
association of regional and national associations of the global fl avour industry,
consisting of the national associations of fl avour manufacturers in Australia,
Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa
and the United States and the regional fl avour association of Europe representing
EU Member States.
In the IOFI Code of Practice (IOFI 2010), fl avourings are defi ned as fl avouring
substances, natural fl avouring complexes, thermal process fl avourings or smoke
fl avourings and mixtures of these. All of these groups may be natural if they
comply with various rules laid out in Section 13, 'Guidelines on the IOFI
interpretation of the term natural' of the IOFI Code of Practice. IOFI has also been
involved in the development of the Codex
Guidelines for the Use of Flavourings
(Codex 2008). These guidelines do not relieve manufacturers from the obligation
to comply with their national regulations and the basic principles of the IOFI
guidelines on the interpretation of the term natural are itemised below.
1.4.1 Raw materials
Raw materials, which are used as a source for natural fl avourings, are materials of
animal, vegetable or microbiological origin. Sources for natural fl avouring
complexes and natural fl avouring substances are the essential oils, oleoresins,
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