Press Release: Food: Commission proposes EU-wide safety assessment and authorisation of smoke flavourings

The European Commission has acted to safeguard public health by proposing new procedures for the safety assessment and authorisation of 'smoke' flavourings. A smoky flavour is attributed to a lot of products, from smoked ham to smoked salmon. Smoke flavourings are often used instead of fresh smoke to impart a smoky flavour to foods such as meat, fish or snacks. The chemical composition of smoke is complex and smoked foods in general give rise to health concerns. Smoke flavourings are produced by condensing fresh smoke in water. The condensed smoke is then fractionated and purified during the production of smoke flavourings. Because of this purification process, the use of smoke flavourings is generally considered to be of less health concern than the traditional smoking process.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/food/fs/sfp/addit_flavor/flavourings/index_en.html http://ec.europa.eu/comm/food/fs/sfp/addit_flavor/flavourings/index_en.html

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