Week 4
4.1a Clip Food flavourings
Flavours: used in the food industry as specific and often complex mixtures of singular flavour
compounds combined together to either imitate or enhance a natural flavour.
These mixtures are formulated by flavourists. Known flavouring agents: thousands of molecular
compounds. The flavour chemist (flavourist) can mix these to produce flavours.
Flavourings
Used to impact taste and/or smell to food
Have a long history of save use in a wide variety of foods
Used in small amounts: exposure is relatively low
Historically: safety evaluation flavour substances no priority because:
o Other groups of chemicals (like drugs, pesticides, food additives and environmental
contaminants) were considered more important
o Perceived as no risk due to low use levels, long history of human exposure as natural
components of diet
This changed for the first time in the US in 1958 first action to regulate safety of food flavourings:
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
GRAS system (Generally Recognized As Safe) – specific for United States.
The basic principle of GRAS is, you can put a group of experts of knowledge in the field and
safety assessment and if they judge that the compound is safe for use, then the FDA will
recognize it as GRAS.
Since 1960 there is an Expert Panel of the FEMA (flavour and Extract Manufacturers
Association) performing GRAS evaluations for US FDA and US market.
In the EU regulation was much later.
Flavouring safety assessment; evaluations also done by JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on
Food Additives), although flavours are no food additives!!!!!!
At present, the EFSA has a panel on food Contact materials, Enzymes and Flavourings and Processing
aids (CEF Panel)
Regulation EU 872/2012
- Contains a new EU list of flavouring substances which can be used in food
- It entered in 2012, so only 8 years ago
- Eu food industry only uses flavourings that are on the EU list
- Flavouring substances not on list, were banned after a phasing-out period
Flavouring types:
- Flavouring substances: chemically identified
- Flavouring preparations: mixtures obtained from plant or animal origin (containing a lot of
chemicals), also called: Natural Flavour Complexes (NFCs)
- Thermal process flavourings and smoke flavourings
, Chemically identified substances:
Natural and nature-identical flavourings
o Large group
o Occur naturally in food or formed during preparation
o Can be isolated from natural sources, but mostly they are chemically synthesized to
ensure purity and identity
Artificial flavourings
o Smaller group
o Not found in nature, but produced by chemical synthesis
o Almost always structurally related to naturally occurring flavouring substances.
Naturally occurring flavour mixtures primarily from plants: Natural Flavour Complexes (NFCs):
o Essential oils and even fruit juices
o Extracts, oleoresins, tinctures, and in some cases foods(like cardamom and black
pepper)
o Obtained from animal or vegetable material by physical methods, enzymes or
fermentation and are classified as natural
o Very complex mixtures
Flavourings; Thermal process flavourings:
o Produced by heating together substances which individually may not have flavouring
properties
o One of these substances must contain an amino (-NH2) group and the other must be
a reducing sugar Maillard reaction. This process is similar to the changes that
happen when food is heated.
Flavourings; smoke flavourings:
o Extracted from smoke – gives same flavour as those produced during traditional
food smoking process.
o Smoke can contain genotoxic compounds (so safety concern). Smoke flavours may
be safer than traditional smoking process harmful chemicals, found in wood smoke,
are removed as much as possible.
4.1a Clip Food flavourings
Flavours: used in the food industry as specific and often complex mixtures of singular flavour
compounds combined together to either imitate or enhance a natural flavour.
These mixtures are formulated by flavourists. Known flavouring agents: thousands of molecular
compounds. The flavour chemist (flavourist) can mix these to produce flavours.
Flavourings
Used to impact taste and/or smell to food
Have a long history of save use in a wide variety of foods
Used in small amounts: exposure is relatively low
Historically: safety evaluation flavour substances no priority because:
o Other groups of chemicals (like drugs, pesticides, food additives and environmental
contaminants) were considered more important
o Perceived as no risk due to low use levels, long history of human exposure as natural
components of diet
This changed for the first time in the US in 1958 first action to regulate safety of food flavourings:
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
GRAS system (Generally Recognized As Safe) – specific for United States.
The basic principle of GRAS is, you can put a group of experts of knowledge in the field and
safety assessment and if they judge that the compound is safe for use, then the FDA will
recognize it as GRAS.
Since 1960 there is an Expert Panel of the FEMA (flavour and Extract Manufacturers
Association) performing GRAS evaluations for US FDA and US market.
In the EU regulation was much later.
Flavouring safety assessment; evaluations also done by JECFA (Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on
Food Additives), although flavours are no food additives!!!!!!
At present, the EFSA has a panel on food Contact materials, Enzymes and Flavourings and Processing
aids (CEF Panel)
Regulation EU 872/2012
- Contains a new EU list of flavouring substances which can be used in food
- It entered in 2012, so only 8 years ago
- Eu food industry only uses flavourings that are on the EU list
- Flavouring substances not on list, were banned after a phasing-out period
Flavouring types:
- Flavouring substances: chemically identified
- Flavouring preparations: mixtures obtained from plant or animal origin (containing a lot of
chemicals), also called: Natural Flavour Complexes (NFCs)
- Thermal process flavourings and smoke flavourings
, Chemically identified substances:
Natural and nature-identical flavourings
o Large group
o Occur naturally in food or formed during preparation
o Can be isolated from natural sources, but mostly they are chemically synthesized to
ensure purity and identity
Artificial flavourings
o Smaller group
o Not found in nature, but produced by chemical synthesis
o Almost always structurally related to naturally occurring flavouring substances.
Naturally occurring flavour mixtures primarily from plants: Natural Flavour Complexes (NFCs):
o Essential oils and even fruit juices
o Extracts, oleoresins, tinctures, and in some cases foods(like cardamom and black
pepper)
o Obtained from animal or vegetable material by physical methods, enzymes or
fermentation and are classified as natural
o Very complex mixtures
Flavourings; Thermal process flavourings:
o Produced by heating together substances which individually may not have flavouring
properties
o One of these substances must contain an amino (-NH2) group and the other must be
a reducing sugar Maillard reaction. This process is similar to the changes that
happen when food is heated.
Flavourings; smoke flavourings:
o Extracted from smoke – gives same flavour as those produced during traditional
food smoking process.
o Smoke can contain genotoxic compounds (so safety concern). Smoke flavours may
be safer than traditional smoking process harmful chemicals, found in wood smoke,
are removed as much as possible.
