EU Urgently Bans Food Additive, Regulation 2856 Causes Market Upheaval

On 13 November 2024, the Commission issued Regulation (EU) 2024/2856 amending Annex I to Regulation (EC) 1334/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council, specifically to remove the flavouring substance phthalic dimercaptan (FL No. 04.029) from the list of permitted food additives. The main contents of the revision are as follows:

(1) Allow food products that have been legally placed on the market before the entry into force of this Regulation, with the addition of phthalic dimercaptans, to remain on the market until they have reached their declared minimum shelf life or actual shelf life;

(2) Allow the importation into the EU of food containing phthalic dimercaptan if the importer of such food can provide sufficient evidence that it originated in a third country and that transit to the EU began before the entry into force of this Regulation;

(3) The provisions of Articles 1 and 2 above do not apply to phthaledithiols themselves and their formulations (meaning flavorings or mixtures of one or more flavorings with other food ingredients, such as food additives, enzymes or carriers, intended to promote storage, marketing, standardization, dilution or dissolution), and these formulations are not intended for consumption as benzene substances;

(4) This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.