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Update from the KTBA Knowledge Center

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Within KTBA, the Knowledge Center is of crucial importance. It devotes a lot of time and attention to keeping knowledge up to date, gathering new knowledge, and educating and retraining our colleagues, so we can help our customers even better.

On this page of the MaQazine you will find a brief update of the most important news facts.

BRCGS FoodSafety, version 9, was published on August 1 and will be audited as of February 1, 2023
If a certified company has an unannounced audit in the transition period from BRCGS 8 to 9, then the company must be ready for both BRCGS 8 and BRCGS 9. The transition is hard.
Up until February 1, 2023, you will be audited against version 8, and as of February 1, 2023, you will be audited against version 9.

The FSSC Foundation has announced that it will start the development phase of version 6 of the FSSC 22000 Part of the reason for the change is to include the new ISO 22003-1:2022 version as a replacement for the current ISO/TS 22003:2013 (Food Safety Management Systems – requirements for Bodies providing audit and certification of Food Safety Management Sytems), but also as part of their continuous improvement process. The current plan is for V6 to be published by the end of the first quarter of 2023 and the first audits to take place from April 1, 2024.

The European Commission has received approval for a legislative proposal for Ethylene Oxide – ETO (ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol) in additives with a maximum amount of 0.1 mg/kg, regardless of the cause of ETO contamination. Companies must adjust the specifications of all additives in this regard where necessary, or inform the manufacturer about this in the context of HACCP. In principle, companies are not allowed to use ETO in the preparation of active substances and additives. This new standard allows companies to set clear requirements for their products and raw materials. To simplify enforcement, the Commission has decided to set a maximum residue level for ethylene oxide in food additives of 0.1 mg/kg at the limit of determination in those products. That is, the lowest residue concentration that can currently be quantified by routine monitoring using validated control methods. The change will take effect on September 1, 2022.

4 hours for recalls and the duty to report to the NVWA. This has been the practice for a while, but now it has been laid down in a policy rule that implements Articles 18, 19, and 20 of the General Food Regulation (Regulation 178/2002). An amendment to the policy rule is that tracing must be done within 4 hours and the duty to report is tightened with the immediate/without delay supply of information. This policy rule was published and took effect on July 1, 2022. The NVWA notices that it takes a long time to report. This is a tightening to improve the duty to report in a timely manner and to emphasize the importance of this. In addition, this is a method for the NVWA to enforce where necessary.

Sweeteners in protein shakes. It is not clear under which category the protein shakes fall; is it a food supplement (FC 17.1) or a flavored drink (FC 14.1.4)? Most Member States see this as a flavored drink. Source: Report of the meeting of the EC Commission Working Group on Additives 05-04-22

Amendment of the Commodities Act Decree Preparation and Treatment of Foodstuffs
- Throughout the decree, ‘food or drink products’ has been replaced by ‘food and drink products’
- 2 amended
- 4a warning label poultry meat added to replace warning text. Text added: “Notwithstanding the third paragraph, in the case of non-prepackaged poultry meat that is packaged at the point of sale at the request of the purchaser or pre-packaged with a view to its immediate sale, the picture referred to in the Annex may also be affixed to an information sheet, voucher or leaflet given to the purchaser.” and added that paragraph two does not apply in the case of frozen poultry meat.
- 15 paragraphs 2 and 3 are voided due to best before date/use by date from 1169
- 18 paragraph 4 amended to: “Without prejudice to the first paragraph, the method described in Article 1 and the annex to Regulation (EU) 333/2007 is designated as the method of investigation which is exclusively decisive for determining whether or not, with respect to the maximum levels of lead, cadmium, mercury, inorganic tin, 3-MCPD and benzo(a)pyrene in food and beverages, Sections 3, 4 and 6 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) 1881/2006 have been complied with.”
- 19 voided
- The effective date of this decree has been postponed from July 1, 2022, to January 1, 2023!

New preservative E246 allowed in beverages. This new preservative is approved for use in certain flavored drinks, liquid (fruit and herbal) tea concentrate, and non-alcoholic beer and malt drinks. These are glycolipids. These are produced in a fermentation process by the fungus Dacryopinax spatularia. It is a new additive and has been given the E number E246. The additive is authorized with a numerical maximum amount ranging from 20 to 50 mg/kg. Glycolipids can be used as preservatives. They prevent spoilage by microorganisms and suppress the growth of pathogenic microorganisms. In this way, they extend the shelf life of the drinks. It could be used as a substitute for sulfites, benzoates, and sorbates. The preservative should not be added to flavored dairy-based beverages.
EFSA assessed the additive as safe in 2021. Amendments in additive legislation: The additive is added to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. The specifications of the additive are set out in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. The amendments will take effect on July 20, 2022.

Oat lecithin approved as an emulsifier in chocolate. This new additive is approved for use in cocoa and chocolate products. It is a new type of lecithin from oats. Since the composition differs significantly from lecithin (E 322) it has been decided to assign a new E number (E 322a). The additive is allowed with a numerical maximum amount of 20,000 mg/kg. Oat lecithin can be used as an emulsifier. An emulsifier ensures that moisture (for example in chocolate) can bind with fat. The additive can be added to make it easier to pump melted chocolate during processing. It also prevents the formation of fat bloom during storage. Fat bloom is a dull rash on chocolate that occurs when chocolate is exposed to varying temperatures.
EFSA assessed the additive as safe in 2020. Amendments in additive legislation: The additive is added to Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008. The specifications of the additive are set out in the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012. The amendments have taken effect on July 19, 2022. Please note Oats are an allergen. Allergens should always be stated on the label.

Icons on packaging clarify expiry dates. ‘Look, smell and taste. Often still good after the date’ or ‘Do not use after the date’: the desired action for the Best Before Date (BBD) is very different than for Use-By Date (UBD). Yet the majority of consumers confuse them. As a result, they often throw away products that are still perfectly edible. The confusion between BBD and UBD accounts for about 10 percent of food waste at home. To clarify the difference between the expiry, two icons have been introduced that manufacturers can now voluntarily place on the packaging. Research by Wageningen University & Research, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the Netherlands Nutrition Center, the Dutch foundation Together Against Food Waste, and Too Good To Go, shows that these icons can help consumers to waste less food.

The Commodities Act regulations on packaging and consumer products have been amended. Be careful with certain substances that contain PFAs. The amendment has taken effect immediately on 1 July 2022, meaning that existing stocks may not be sold since. The approval of the other PFASs in the Commodities Act will continue to exist.
Update June 30, 2022

The Commodities Act regulations on packaging and consumer products contains a so-called positive list, which contains substances that may be used in packaging materials and consumables. As of 1 July 2022, approval has been withdrawn for certain substances that have the PFASs (PFOA, PFOS, PFNA, and PFHxS) as a starting substance, contamination or degradation product. Four PFASs that were on the positive list for paper and cardboard and coatings have been removed from it. It concerns the following substances:
- ammonium bis(N-ethyl-2-perfluorooctanesulfonamideethyl)phosphate, containing up to 15% ammonium mono(N-ethyl-2-perfluorooctanesulfonamideethyl)phosphate;
- copolymers of 2-(perfluorooctylsulfonylaminomethyl)ethyl methacrylate, 2,3 epoxypropyl methacrylate, ethoxyethyl acrylate and methacryloylmethyltrimethylammonium chloride;
- perfluoroalkyl(C6-C16)(C6-C18)phosphates of bis(2-hydroxyethyl)amine.
- diethanolamine salts of mono- and bis(1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluoroalkyl(C8-C18)phosphates.

Germany passed a new law on 11 June 2022,that requires companies to screen their suppliers for human rights compliance. This includes the following:
As of 2023, companies supplying products to Germany will have to deal with the law on the national supply chain, called ‘Lieferkettengesetz’. It aims to improve human rights in global supply chains and eliminate forced labor and inequality. The law also makes it possible to impose heavy fines on companies that do business with suppliers that do not comply with human rights or environmental rules. The new law is intended to protect workers at the bottom link of production chains in distant countries against these abuses, such as on coffee and tropical fruit plantations.

The Lieferkettengesetz will take effect in 2023 for companies with more than 3000 employees. From 2024, the law will also apply to companies with more than 1000 employees. The fine for violation of the law can be up to 2 percent of the average annual turnover. France also has a similar law. We are still waiting for European regulations that are being worked on in Brussels.

MaQAzine 13

Update from the KTBA Knowledge Center

Your knowledge up-to-date

Within KTBA, the Knowledge Center is of crucial importance. It devotes a lot of time and attention to keeping knowledge up to date, gathering new knowledge, and educating and retraining our colleagues, so we can help our customers even better.

Stay up to date with trends and developments!