Foodstuffs flavourings

Concentrated preparation, not obtained from smoked materials, used for the purpose of imparting a smoke type flavour to foodstuffs. Flavour adjuncts may be added... 

The corrosive effects to be considered (mainly simple corrosion of metals) are, as would be expected from the edible nature of foodstuffs which are not excessively either acidic or basic but which may contain sulphur, less severe than those often encountered with inedible materials containing reactive substances. The importance of corrosive efiects where foodstuffs are concerned lies not so much in the action of the foodstuffs on the metal involved as in the resultant metal contamination of the foodstuff itself, which may give rise to off-flavours, in the acceleration of other undesirable changes (by the Maillard reaction for example), and in the possible formation of toxic metallic salts. Metal ions generally have threshold values of content for incipient taste effect in different liquid foodstuffs. Except in the case of the manufacture of fruit juices and pickles, process plant failure through corrosion must be rare. Nevertheless all foodstuffs, particularly liquid ones, should be regarded as potentially corrosive and capable of metal pick-up which may be undesirable. 

Mention should also be made of glutamic acid and invert sugar which are used in foodstuffs and demand the use of hydrochloric acid-resistant material in manufacture, and of the essential flavouring oils which should preferably be stored and prepared in stainless steel and aluminium equipment. 

Containers of foodstuffs should not be unduly stained or etched and must not be perforated or allowed to become distended by pressure due to evolution of hydrogen, and the contents must not suffer unacceptable changes of colour or flavour. Long storage periods, e.g. two years, may be required. 

Council Directive 88/388/EEC of 22 June 1988 on the approximation of the laws of the member states relating to flavourings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their production (Official Journal of the European Communities (L184) of 15 July 1988, pp. 61-6). 

Regulation (EC) No. 2232/96 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 October 1996 laying down a Community procedure for flavouring substances used or intended for use in or on foodstuffs (Official Journal of the European Communities (L299) of 23 November 1996, pp. 1-4). 

European commission. 1999. Commission Decision of 17 February 1999 adopting a register of flavouring substances in or on foodstuffs. OJ L84, 27.3.1999, p. 1. 

Flavour enhancer Substance which enhances the existing taste and/or odour of a foodstuff... 

Smoke flavourings means smoke extracts used in traditional foodstuff smoking processes. The EU Regulation on smoke flavourings subdivides them into four categories ... 

Flavouring adjuvants are foodstuffs, food additives, other food ingredients or processing aids which are necessary to ensure the safety and quality of flavourings and to facilitate the production, storage and intended use of flavourings. 

The Directive states that the levels of additives present in flavourings should be the minimum required to achieve the intended purpose. Flavouring adjuvants should not have a remaining technological function in the final foodstuff. With regard to this requirement, the possibility of the carryover of additives used in flavourings is especially mentioned in the Directive. 

Following article 5 of the EU Flavour Directive, EU Regulation 2232/96 defined the basic rules for the use of flavouring substances for foodstuffs in the EU. In addition, it lays down a procedure for establishing a positive list for flavouring substances in the EU [7]. 

In 1998 the EU Commission within the Commission Decision 199/217/EEC published an inventory of flavouring substances used in the EU. This inventory (including its amendments) lists most of the flavouring substances which are subject to evaluation, leading to a positive list of flavouring substances to be used in foodstuffs in the EU [8]. 

The labelling requirements for flavourings in the EU are laid down in EU Flavour Directive 88/388/EEC for the flavourings themselves and in EU Directive 91/72/EEC concerning the designation of flavourings in the list of ingredients of the final foodstuff. 

Estragole is a natural constituent of a number of plants and their EOs have been widely used in foodstuffs as flavouring agents. Several studies have shown the hepatocarcinogenicity of EOs with estragole and its metabolites [372]. 

Generation of flavourful food preparations, based on the reaction of foodstuffs... 

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