Bell Flavors & Fragrances EMEA has launched a range of certified organic flavors and beverage compounds, enabling manufacturers to keep their organic labeling. The move is in line with changing regulations on organic food products in the EU.

The new flavors from Bell further aims to support product developments based on solely organic certified raw materials while providing characteristic and reliable taste properties, the company notes. 

“It is one of our main priorities to be able to adapt to changing legislation and industry standards quickly. Hence, we want to make sure to provide our customers with reliable products and comprehensive services, such as regulatory support,” Agneta Hoffmann, marketing manager for Bell Flavors, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

The company conducted an in-depth market analysis earlier this year to evaluate the impacts of new EU regulations for organic food on various segments.

“We can see a growing demand in organic flavors, driven by an overall growth for organic food and beverages across Europe. Hence, this demand is not only driven by legislation but further by an evolution of consumers’ buying decisions,” she explains. 
Consumers today increasingly demand naturalness, clean label ingredients and transparency – and they often link organic with their health and well-being, Hoffmann asserts. 

“At the same time, environmental concerns equally play a major role. For example, this can be when talking about eco-friendly products or packaging solutions and sustainability,” she adds. 

Consumers associate organic with better quality. This is also reflected in the ingredients and flavors used in a product, she says. 

Meanwhile, organic food products have seen a high level of growth in recent years, which can mainly be attributed to increasing consumer interest in naturalness, transparency and clean labeling, and growing environmental concerns. 

Next to seasonings, bakery products, snacks, dairy products and non-alcoholic beverages are among the top categories focusing on organic claims and ingredients, says Bell. 

Changing regulations
Given the ever-growing demand for organic food products on a global scale, legislation is continually adapting.

The new EU-Regulation (EU) 848/2018, applying to organic-certified products from January 1, 2022, will change the raw materials and flavorings allowed in organic-labeled products. 

Following the new legislation, only natural x flavorings (95/5) or flavoring preparations are allowed to be incorporated in organic food.

Therefore, to keep the organic certification within end products, manufacturers can only contain organic, suitable or organic certified natural source flavorings or extracts. 

Losing organic status
As only a maximum of 5 percent, non-certified ingredients within product formulation are allowed. 

Moreover, organic certified flavors or extracts are mandatory in product categories with high flavor dosages, such as beverage compounds, seasonings and others. 

This bears challenges for the affected categories, which are at risk of losing their organic status. Simultaneously, manufacturers need to reformulate their existing product range to comply with the new regulations.

“Developing organic-certified natural x flavors means a high focus on raw materials and ingredients used as such. Moreover, volatility for certain organic raw materials also influences this process,” continues Hoffmann. 

“Thus, we are strongly focused on responsible sourcing and the highest quality of the organic ingredients used.”

“based on an increasing consumer focus on health credentials and, above all, naturalness of food and beverage products, food labeling such as organic will play a major role in future markets,” she further details. 

“At the same time, it is important to have overall standards binding for most countries to gain consumer trust and improve clarity on various labeling standards.” 

Overcoming regulatory challenges
Bell EMEA has carried out an organic certification for its European site to deliver a comprehensive portfolio of flavors fitting market needs and growing consumer demands for organic products. 

The investment reflects Bell‘s increased technical expertise in all aspects of organic flavor creation, sourcing, production technology and regulatory proficiency. 

Hence, Bell’s organizational structure ensures compliance with its production methods with the new EU organic regulations while adhering to the highest quality based on carefully seleced raw materials and a strong commitment to responsible sourcing.

With a newly designed range of organic certified natural source flavors and beverage compounds, Bell enables beverage manufacturers to meet the new EU organic regulations while delivering authentic taste properties such as orange, lemon, apple, lime or cola, among others. 

The range further aims to add value for manufacturers and brands committed to sourcing solely organic-certified raw materials and claiming to provide market products based on exclusively organic ingredients. 

Simultaneously, the range of certified organic products is expanded into other categories, including snack seasonings and sauces.

To target organic needs globally, Bell further comprises a certification of the US facility in Northbrook and the Canadian facility in Brossard, Montréal, to produce certified organic flavors. 

The US portfolio includes over 100 flavors from liquid compounding, spray dry, and dry blend manufacturing areas, all compliant with USDA-regulations.