On September 25, 2024, the European Commission revised the regulation on “Food information for consumers concerning the use of behenic acid” as per Regulation (EC) No 1169/2011.
The document indicates the following key points:
- To exempt the use of Behenic acid from mustard seeds in the production of certain emulsifiers(E 470a, E 471, E 477);
- The study indicates the emulsifiers from Behenic acid are unlikely to trigger allergic reactions in mustard-allergic individuals under certain conditions;
- The assessment in 2023 concluded that the likelihood (≤ 1%) of the emulsifiers causing allergic reactions in mustard-allergic individuals is extremely low;
- Mustard and products thereof, except: behenic acid with a minimum of 85 % of purity and obtained after two distillation steps used in the manufacturing of the emulsifiers;
- Foods already on the market or labelled before April 1, 2025, can continue to be sold until stocks are exhausted.
The regulation will come into effect on April 1, 2025
To view the complete regulation, check out the Food News Monitoring System