China to Amend GB Standard General Rules for Food Flavorings (GB 29938)

On November 7, 2023, China Association of Fragrance Flavour and Cosmetic Industries (CAFFCI) opened the consultation of amended GB 29938 General Rules for Food Flavorings for public feedback. The proposed draft mainly aims at modifying the varieties and quality specifications of synthetic flavorings used in food. Comments can be sent to [email protected] before November 20.

Major Revisions

1. Addition of residue limit requirements for extract solvents in final products

Compared to the current GB 29938-2020, the new draft adds the requirements for residue limits of extract solvents in final products, by reference to the use principle of processing aids specified in GB 2760.

Current provisions	Proposed provisions
In the production and processing of natural flavors for food, if extract solvents are required due to processing necessity, the amount of solvent used should be minimized to achieve the expected purpose.	In the production and processing of natural flavors for food, if extract solvents are required due to processing necessity, the amount of solvent used and the residual amount in the final product should be minimized to achieve the expected purpose. The residual amount should not pose a health hazard or play a functional role in the final food.

2. Updates of Annex D Content requirements for synthetic flavors used in food

The draft adds quality specification requirements for some flavors in Annex D, in addition to their contents. The title of Appendix D is modified accordingly, from "Content Requirements for Synthetic Flavors in Food" to "Technical Requirements for Synthetic Flavors in Food".
The draft adds three flavors and their quality specifications. Currently, there are 12 flavors listed in GB 2760 but with no quality specification requirements. This revision plans to include L-rhamnose, Scansmoke SEF 7525, and SmokEz C-10 among the 12 flavors, and formulate their quality specification requirements in accordance with JECFA and EU regulations. As for the other 9 substances, industry investigation shows that no enterprises have provided data and information related to the production, use, quality specification requirements, or monitoring. The drafting committee of the proposed draft plans to further seek opinions within the industry. For substances that are no longer produced or used, the committee suggests deleting them in GB 2760.

Flavor	FEMA Number	Technical Requirements
l-Rhamnose	3730	Color: colorless or white Status: crystalline or crystalline powder Moisture, ω/%：≤ 11.0 Content (on a dry basis): ≥ 98.0% Melting point/°C: 86-96 Specific rotation (20°C): +7.5° - +8.9° Total bacterial count/(CFU/g): ≤ 1,000 Salmonella/25g: undetectable
Scansmoke SEF 7525	/	Moisture: 0.3-0.9% Acidity (as acetic acid): 0.09-0.25% Carbonyl compounds: 1.2-3.0% Phenols: 8.0-12.0% Benzo [a] pyrene: ≤ 10 μg/kg Benzo [a] anthracene: ≤ 20 μg/kg
SmokEz C-10	/	pH value: 2.15-2.6 Moisture: 60.7-65.1% Acidity (as acetic acid): 10.5-12.0% Carbonyl compounds: 12.0-17.0% Phenols: 10.0-15.0 mg/mL Benzo [a] pyrene: ≤ 10 μg/kg Benzo [a] anthracene: ≤ 20 μg/kg

The draft newly includes the quality specification requirements for 17 flavors. At present, GB 29983 only specifies the content, while many international standards have detailed quality specifications for flavors. As shown in the draft, the content requirements specified in the original standard are not modified, but technical indicators such as color, state, aroma, refractive index, relative density, etc. are added. The 17 flavors include 1-p-Menthen-4-ol, α-Pinene, β-Pinene, Styralyl acetate, Isobornyl acetate, Neohesperidin DHC, Phenylpropyl aldehyde, Nerol, Ocimene, Geraniol, Terpinolene, α-Damascone, Campholenic aldehyde, Isovaleraldehyde, Tetrahydrogeraniol, γ-Valerolactone, and 2-Acetylpyridine. The table below shows three examples of newly added technical requirements.

Flavor	FEMA Number	Technical Requirements
1-p-Menthen-4-ol	2248	Color: colorless to light yellow Status: oily liquid Aroma: with pepper, soil, and moldy woody aroma Content: ≥ 96% Relative density (25°C/25°C): 0.928-0.934 Refractive index (20°C): 1.476-1.480
α-Pinene	2902	Color: colorless Status: flowing liquid Aroma: with resin and pine like aroma Content: ≥ 97% Acid value, mg KOH/g: < 1.0 Relative density (25°C/25°C): 0.855-0.860 Refractive index (20°C): 1.462-1.468
β-Pinene	2903	Color: colorless Status: flowing liquid Aroma: with resin and pine like aroma Content: ≥ 97% Acid value, mg KOH/g: < 1.0 Relative density (25°C/25°C): 0.867-0.871 Refractive index (20°C): 1.476-1.482

The draft changes the "molecular weight" involved in the content determination method of some flavors in the original standard to "molecular formula", taking into account slight changes in relative molecular weight in different years, which leads to inaccuracy if molecular weight is given directly.
The draft adds Appendix D.2, Technical Requirements and Determination Methods for Synthetic Flavors for Food, specifying corresponding general determination methods as per the added technical requirements.

3. Revisions of food flavors' Chinese names and English names

On the basis of GB 2760-2014 Standard for the Uses of Food Additives, the draft modifies the names of flavors in both Chinese and English. A total of 146 flavors' names are aligned.

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