Editing Flavoring (section)

==Regulations==
=== In Europe ===
Under the EU legislation, substances which have exclusively a sweet, sour or salty taste are not considered flavorings (Article 2, Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008.<ref name="regulation_1334/2008">[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008R1334-20211124 ''Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties for use in and on foods and amending Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91, Regulations (EC) No 2232/96 and (EC) No 110/2008 and Directive 2000/13/EC''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209133818/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02008R1334-20211124 |date=9 February 2022 }} (consolidated version of 24 November 2021). The preamble is [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R1334 reproduced here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209133830/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R1334 |date=9 February 2022 }}</ref>

Also flavor enhancers are not considered flavorings under the EU legislation but additives (Point 14 of Annex I of Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008).<ref name="regulation_1333/2008">[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02008R1333-20210808 ''Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on food additives''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209133830/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02008R1333-20210808 |date=9 February 2022 }} (consolidated version of 8 August 2021). The preamble is [https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32008R1333 reproduced here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209133820/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32008R1333 |date=9 February 2022 }}</ref>

EU legislation defines several types of flavorings:<ref>European Commission website, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety. Retrieved on 6 May 2020 https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_improvement_agents/flavourings_en {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712212322/https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_improvement_agents/flavourings_en |date=12 July 2020 }}</ref>
*flavoring substances (including "natural flavoring substances"): 
*flavoring preparations (by definition always natural): 
*thermal process flavorings
*smoke flavorings
*flavor precursors
*other flavorings

In the EU, Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavorings and certain food ingredients with flavoring properties for use in/on foods, i.e. the EU Flavouring Regulation, was adopted on 16 December 2008 and entered into force on 20 January 2009.  It applies from 20 January 2011.
Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 lays down general requirements for safe use of flavorings and provides definitions for different types of flavorings. The Regulation sets out substances for which an evaluation and approval is required. The Union list of flavoring substances, approved for use in and on foods, was adopted on 1 October 2012 and was introduced in Annex I of this Regulation<ref>European Commission website, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety. Retrieved on 6 May 2020: https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_improvement_agents/flavourings/eu_rules_en {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716151212/https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/food_improvement_agents/flavourings/eu_rules_en |date=16 July 2020 }}</ref>

==== In the UK ====
The UK followed the above EU legislation which remained in force until 31 December 2020. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 provided that from 1 January 2021, this directly applicable EU legislation was converted into UK law with minor corrections to enable it to operate effectively as UK law. These corrections were made by Statutory Instrument 2019 No. 860.

The UK Food industry, in collaboration with the flavoring industry, has developed guidance on what to consider when declaring a pictorial representation of a food ingredient on the label of a pre-packed product.

=== In the United States ===
In the United States, flavorings are regulated in ''Title 21'' of the [[Code of Federal Regulations]]. They are divided into artificial and natural flavorings.<ref name="fda-title21-2022">U.S. Food and Drug Administration, [https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.22 ''Food Labeling''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209115842/https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/cfrsearch.cfm?fr=101.22 |date=9 February 2022 }} In: Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21 — Food and drugs, Chapter I. (version of 6 Jan 2022)</ref>

=== In Australia and New Zealand ===
In Australia and New Zealand regulation of flavorings is covered by the [[Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code]] of November 2000, entered into force in December 2002.<ref name="au-nz_guide-2002"/>

Natural flavorings are obtained from plant or animal raw materials, by physical, microbiological, or enzymatic processes. They can be either used in their natural state or processed for human consumption, but cannot contain any nature-identical or artificial flavoring substances.

Nature-identical flavorings are obtained by synthesis or isolated through chemical processes, which are chemically and [[organoleptic]]ally identical to flavoring substances naturally present in products intended for human consumption. They cannot contain any artificial flavoring substances.

Artificial flavorings are "flavouring substances not identified in a natural product intended for human consumption, whether or not the product is processed."

===Regulations on natural flavoring===
[[File:Mystic Ice Cream flavor selection sign.jpg|thumb|300px|American ice cream shop using natural flavors]]
In the EU, in order to be labeled as natural flavoring substance, many conditions have to be fulfilled: "Natural flavouring substance" shall mean a flavoring substance obtained by appropriate physical, enzymatic or microbiological processes from material of vegetable, animal or microbiological origin either in the raw state or after processing for human consumption by one or more of the traditional food preparation processes listed in Annex II. Natural flavoring substances correspond to substances that are naturally present and have been identified in nature (Article 3).<ref name="regulation_1334/2008"/>

More detailed information on the Production of Natural Flavouring Substances and (Natural) Flavouring Preparations can be found on the European Flavour Association (EFFA) Guidance Document.<ref>EFFA Guidance Document for the Production of Natural Flavouring Substances and (Natural) Flavouring Preparations: https://effa.eu/docs/default-source/guidance-documents/effa-guidance-document-for-the-production-of-natural-flavouring-substances-and-(natural)-flavouring-preparations-in-the-eu6c53ae21f98c63ce9dbbff000087830d.pdf{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[UK]] Food Law defines a natural flavor as:

{{Blockquote|A flavouring substance (or flavouring substances) which is (or are) obtained, by physical, enzymatic, or microbiological processes, from material of vegetable or animal origin which material is either raw or has been subjected to a process normally used in preparing food for human consumption and to no process other than one normally so used<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/uksi_19941486_en_1.htm|title=The Flavourings in Food (Amendment) Regulations 1994|website=www.opsi.gov.uk|access-date=3 February 2018|archive-date=28 May 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528083814/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1994/Uksi_19941486_en_1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations describes a "natural flavoring" as:
{{quote|The [[essential oil]], oleoresin, essence, or extractive, protein hydrolysate, [[distillate]], or any product of roasting, heating, or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit, or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf, or any other edible portions of a plant, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose primary function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.<ref name="fda-title21-2022"/>}}