European definition of colourings causes confusion

Tag : Dried Seaweed
Kath Veal, business manager for regulatory services at Leatherhead Food International, said the definition for colourings as foodstuffs that provide colour as a secondary effect leads tounanswered questions for manufacturers.

Two main points she raised were whether certain flowers and algae are in fact foodstuffs, and if a product has beenprocessed and then selectively extracted to leave only pigment, canit still be classed a colouring.

"Manufacturers are trying to abide by the rules, but are leftconfused by the regulations," Veal told FoodNavigator.com.

"If regulators restrict access to these alternative colours, itwill make it even more difficult for manufacturers to move awayfrom artificial additives to the more natural alternatives thatconsumers want."

Also, because of Europe's precautionary principle, it is cautiousabout new ingredients, making it difficult for manufacturers toknow the position of certain products.

In response to the question on extraction, the UK government hassaid: "There continue to be discussions in Brussels on what constitutes selective extraction, so this leaves a greyarea at the present time."

This week, the European Parliament voted on new regulationsgoverning colourings and flavourings. The industry is hoping thesewill provide better clarity for manufacturers.

Defining colours

According to the European Directive (94/36/EC), things that wouldnot be considered colours are:

"Foodstuffs; whether dried or in concentrated form and flavouringsincorporated during the manufacturing of compound foodstuffs,because of their aromatic, sapid or nutritive properties togetherwith a secondary colouring effect, such as paprika, tumeric andsaffron".

Therefore, products such as spirulina (from seaweed), hibiscus and safflower may not technically beconsidered foodstuffs, though these have been commonly consumedover time.

Veal also said that the current regulations mean companiesmarketing just the pigment from saffron, for example, are actuallydoing to illegally.

In a discussion document, the German authorities have raisedconcerns about the confusions in the regulations, saying: " When extracting food of plant or animal origin there is a smoothtransition from a complete extraction with water to a more or lessselective extraction up to an isolation of pure single components.

"Nevertheless for the task of classification it is essential tomark the position within that spectrum from where on the product isno longer 'a food consumed as such' but (if used for technologicalor nutritional purposes) an additive, which needs approval."

The German authorities are currently debating the issue ofSpirulina, which is used as a blue food colouring by companies suchas Nestle. It has been historically used as a food supplement, butquestions remain over whether it can be classed as a foodstuff.

Changes to legislation

Earlier this week, the European Parliament adopted a legislativepackage to make all products containing any of the six artificial'Southampton colours' labelled with a health warning for children.

Additionally, MEPs updated and simplified EU rules for authorisingfood additives, flavourings and enzymes by adopting a legislativepackage on four draft regulations, which are part of theCommission's Food Improvement Agents Package (FIAP).

Other areas voted on by the Parliament included the decision thatfood additives must only be used if they are safe and bringbenefits to consumers, flavourings must be 95 per cent natural inorigin to be labelled "natural", and separate limit values for nanotechnologies must be decided on.