Food industry braces for smoke flavor ban impact across Europe

Food industry companies are currently assessing how to respond to a new ban on the addition of smoke flavors in food products. Many businesses have invested significantly in operations that utilize smoke flavoring, leading to frustration over the upcoming changes, according to an industry expert. Terhi Virtanen of the Food Industry Association stated that companies will need to dismantle existing equipment and seek alternative solutions.

The prohibition stems from an evaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which indicated that smoke flavors could be linked to an increased cancer risk. The European Commission’s decision includes a transition period, allowing the sale of smoked cheese, meat, seafood, and fish that contain smoke flavors until early July 2029. Some businesses have already started to find replacements, but challenges may arise, such as obtaining environmental permits for smoking operations.

A fish processing company in Lahti traditionally sells 50,000–100,000 kilograms of smoked fish annually, without using smoke flavors, and reports that Finland enjoys a permanent exemption to allow traditionally smoked meats on its markets.

The use of smoke flavoring is widespread across Europe, driven by regulatory frameworks favoring this method over traditional smoking processes, which are now considered less clean. The Finnish Food Authority assures that the use of flavors has been deemed safer for health than traditional smoking techniques, as harmful compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are removed.

Despite the ban, industry executives believe competition will remain robust. New ingredients and compounds are expected to be developed, and companies plan to continue using traditional smoking methods, although they don’t foresee immediate further investments.