Smoke flavourings authorisation guidance

Smoke flavourings are added to foods, such as meat or cheese, to give them a ‘smoked’ flavour as an alternative to traditional smoking. They can also be added to foods which are not traditionally smoked, such as soups, sauces or confectionery. In some cases, smoke flavourings are used at very low levels to add an undertone of a particular flavour only and not the full smoky taste. 

Smoke flavourings need to be authorised before they can be placed on the market in Great Britain (GB).  Assimilated Regulation 2065/2003  outlines the authorisation procedure for these types of flavouring. 

Smoke flavourings are controlled under different legislation to other flavourings and so have different timings for the risk analysis process and data requirements for applications. Authorisations are applicant specific. 

Register of smoke flavourings 

The FSA maintains a register that accurately reflects the authorisation status of smoke flavourings as determined by the appropriate authority (ministers) in England, Scotland and Wales. The register of smoke flavouring primary products sets out a list of smoke flavourings permitted for use in GB and provides references to their terms of authorisation.  

New authorisations 

To apply for an authorisation of a smoke flavouring in GB, use our regulated products application portal. This is where you will be asked to upload all the documents to support your application, which will form your dossier. There is no fee for the application. 

Your application should consist of: 

• an overall summary of the application 
• administrative data (part 1) 
• technical data (part 2) 
• toxicological data (part 3) 
• references and reports (part 4) 

Detailed guidance 

• EFSA has previously developed technical guidance on the requirements of application dossiers which is also applicable for dossiers submitted in GB.  However, you should follow the parts that relate to the development of dossiers only and not the application process. EFSA guidance on the submission of a dossier on smoke flavouring primary product.
• Assimilated Regulation 627/2006 – smoke products covers the quality criteria for validated analytical methods for sampling, identification and characterisation of primary smoke products 

Getting help 

If you have any questions about the authorisation procedure or application requirements, you can contact us at regulatedproducts@food.gov.uk 

Apply for authorisation 

You can now use our online service to make a regulated product application.