In EFSA's opinion, smoke flavors serve as an alternative to traditional smoking, a long-standing practice used for preserving certain foods such as fish, meat, and dairy products. The smoking process also alters their flavor.

Smoke flavors do not have the same preservative function, but when added to foods, they impart a smoky taste.

EFSA assessed the safety of eight smoke flavors on the EU market, whose authorization needed renewal according to current legislation.

Wim Mennes, the chair of EFSA's flavor working group, guides the main findings of this analysis and announces the next steps.

• First, in what foods are smoke flavors used?

Smoke flavors are added to foods such as meat, fish, or cheese as an alternative to the traditional smoking process. However, they can also be used as flavors in other foods like soups, sauces, beverages, chips, edible ices, and confectionery products.

• Why did EFSA evaluate their safety?

EFSA's activity on smoke flavors is defined by EU legislation, which mandates the safety of smoke flavors to be assessed before they can be marketed. Additionally, those already on the market must be re-evaluated before the end of the authorization period.

The eight products just evaluated have been on the EU market for the past 10 years, and applicants have requested the European Commission to extend their authorizations for another 10 years. For the other two products currently on the EU market, the applicant did not request a renewal of their authorization.

• What are the health risks?

Based on the available scientific evidence, concerns regarding genotoxicity for any of the eight smoke flavors could not be ruled out.

Genotoxicity is the ability of a chemical substance to damage the genetic material of cells. Changes or mutations in genetic information within a cell can increase the risk of developing conditions such as cancer and inherited diseases.

For this type of toxicity, a safe level cannot be defined.

• Has EFSA evaluated these flavors in the past?

Yes, we assessed them between 2009 and 2012 to inform the decision of the European Commission and EU member states regarding their authorization for use.

At that time, the group identified safety concerns for most products due to their insufficient safety margins at the proposed usage levels. This led the European Commission and EU member states to review the proposed usage levels by the applicant and allow a more limited use in foods.

• So, what was new this time?

We used an updated methodology to evaluate new data submitted by applicants. It is described in EFSA's updated scientific guide from 2021, which was not available during the initial assessment. It recommends that if a single component of a complex mixture (such as smoke flavors) is confirmed as genotoxic, the entire mixture should be considered genotoxic.

We concluded that six of the evaluated smoke flavors contain genotoxic substances and therefore pose safety concerns. We could not exclude safety issues for the other two due to a lack of data.

• What does EFSA's advice on smoke flavors mean for consumers?

In general, there may be an increased risk of harmful effects when consuming genotoxic substances. However, the likelihood of these effects occurring depends on various factors, including an individual's genetics and dietary habits. EFSA has not investigated the chance of such harmful effects resulting from the consumption of foods flavored with smoke flavors.

However, it's worth noting that EFSA adopts a conservative approach to its assessments, meaning we consider the most unfavorable scenarios to estimate hazards and risks.

A balanced diet generally reduces the probability of exposure to food risks. Balancing the diet with a wide variety of foods, e.g., meat, fish, vegetables, could help consumers reduce their intake of harmful substances.

• What happens now?

The European Commission and EU member states will carefully consider EFSA's scientific opinions as part of discussions on appropriate risk management options for smoke flavors currently on the market.