30 April 2010 - The Italian Office for Food Safety and Nutrition of the Ministero del Lavoro, della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali on Tuesday this week reported the presence of the solvent toluene in vanillin that was used in dessert manufacture.
Further to investigation it was revealed on Wednesday that the toluene-tainted flavouring agent was manufactured in Norway and, in addition to Italy, it was also sold in Croatia and Slovenia. It also is understood that all the stock of the product was used in Italy.
Contact was then established with Norway's Borregaard Industries, a global leader of the vanillin market, to find out how the solvent made its way into the flavouring agent.
Thomas Marwedel, Business Director of Borregaard's Aroma Chemicals unit, informed FLEXNEWS this morning that his company does indeed use the solvent in the manufacture of its vanillin products, however, there is absolutely no risk for human health.
"Borregaard uses toluene in the extraction processes, afterwards the toluene is efficiently removed. Therefore the presence of toluene in vanillin is insignificant and of no risk to consumers", he said.
Marwedel also stressed that the content of vanillin in food and fragrances is usually under 1%.
"We have not been provided with any technical details regarding this particular case or the analytical methods used, but we can assure you that our processes, which are under permanent control, are safe", he added.
Furthermore, the Business Director of Borregaard's Aroma Chemicals unit, went on to say that he sees no reasons for his company to carry out a recall, or to make any changes in the production process of vanillin.
Commenting on Borregaard's production process for the flavouring agent, Marwedel said: "Vanillin from lignin is produced in Norway from wood as a natural raw material. Both product and process are certified according to EU legislation and according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe). The Norwegian Food Authority have authorized the manufacturing process of vanillin and confirmed compliance Norwegian legislation and the EU directive in question has been implemented in Norway in accordance with the obligations and the EEA Agreement".
"The use of solvents in the production of flavours is approved according to European legislation and this is made transparent to our customers", he added.