Making Sure Your Ingredients Comply With Legislation
Superfruits and foods like berries, green tea, and garlic have many health benefits and are becoming popular additions to functional foods, drinks, and cosmetics. Most manufacturers add them to their products as extracts or infusions rather than including whole fruits, seeds, or leaves, which can cause confusion when it comes to labeling.
While these ingredients certainly come from natural sources, brands can’t always label them as “natural” in every country. The European Union has strict labeling laws for natural substances, including food additives like flavoring and coloring.
Labeling Requirements for Natural Flavors: US vs EU
There is a long-standing debate on the naturalness of “natural” flavors in the USA. The FDA defines the term as any flavoring ingredients from plant or animal sources derived through heating, roasting, fermentation, or enzyme action. This limited definition leaves room for interpretation, and many FDA-certified natural flavors also contain solvents or other synthetic ingredients.
According to Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008, brands may only label a flavoring as “natural” if it contains exclusively natural flavoring substances or preparations. These substances must have been previously identified in nature to qualify as natural in the EU. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) provides more detailed guidelines for using the word “natural” on food labels.
The EFSA also requires that all natural flavoring ingredients be taken or prepared by one of 25 specific “traditional food preparation processes”, including drying, distillation, and solvent extraction.
EU Legislation for Natural Ingredients in Cosmetics
The European Union has some of the world’s strictest legislation for cosmetic ingredients. The European Commission governs its cosmetics industry, and the most important law to consider when placing products on the European market is Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009. This law requires suppliers to have a deep understanding of the composition and safety of each ingredient in their products.
The term “natural” may refer to natural or derived natural substances on cosmetics labels. Ingredients like flavorings and scents that have undergone chemical processing fall under derived natural substances.
European Food Traceability Laws
Traceability is a crucial part of the EU’s General Food Law Regulation, which ensures the safety of all edible consumer products and feed for food-producing animals. Under this law, the EFSA must be able to trace the origins of each ingredient in your product at every stage of production.
You must be able to supply information about the origins of food additives like flavorings, preservatives, aromatics, and colorings to place them on the European market. Understanding where your ingredients come from will help you build better relationships with importers in the EU.
Why Use EU Natural Ingredients?
The flavorings, scents, and other trace ingredients you choose for your products can determine their success in foreign markets. Using additives that comply with the strict EU food and cosmetic safety regulations helps you to future-proof your business for global growth. It builds your reputation as an upstanding supplier and makes importing and exporting products between regions much easier.
These ingredients give your customers peace of mind that your products meet the European shopper’s safety and quality standards.
Find Premium EU Natural Ingredients for Your Product
Advanced Biotech is committed to providing our international customers high-quality food flavorings and aromatics. Our range of EU-Natural ingredients meets strict European traceability and safety standards so that you can export your products to the region with confidence. These flavorings come from premium natural plant and animal sources that we would be happy to discuss with you. Please contact us for more information.