Regulation (EC) No 2065/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 November 2003 on smoke flavourings used or intended for use in or on foods (c. 2065)

ANNEX I U.K. Conditions for the production of primary products

1. Smoke is generated from the wood referred to in Article 5(1). Herbs, spices, twigs of juniper and twigs, needles and cones of picea may be added if they are free of residues of intentional or unintentional chemical treatment or if they comply with more specific Community legislation. The source material is subjected to controlled burning, dry distillation or treatment with superheated steam in a controlled oxygen environment with a maximum temperature of 600 °C. U.K.

2. The smoke is condensed. Water and/or, without prejudice to other Community legislation, solvents may be added to achieve phase separation. Physical processes may be used for isolation, fractionation and/or purification to obtain the following phases: U.K.

(a)

a water-based

‘primary smoke condensate’

mainly containing carboxylic acids, carbonylic and phenolic compounds, having a maximum content of:

benzo[a]pyrene	10 μg/kg
benz[a]anthracene	20 μg/kg

(b)

a water-insoluble high-density tar phase which during the phase separation will precipitate, and which cannot be used as such for the production of smoke flavourings but only after appropriate physical processing to obtain fractions from this water-insoluble tar phase which are low in polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, already defined as

‘primary tar fractions’

, having a maximum content of:

benzo[a]pyrene	10 μg/kg
benz[a]anthracene	20 μg/kg

(c)

a ‘water-insoluble oily phase’.

If no phase separation has occurred during or after the condensation, the smoke condensate obtained must be regarded as a water-insoluble high-density tar phase, and must be processed by appropriate physical processing to obtain primary tar fractions which stay within the specified limits.