concerns of number of chemicals critically. For example, Food and Drug Administration have not assessed the safety of most of the secret chemicals which are being
used in different fragrances and sprays. These constitute proprietary chemical
formulas and because of the competition in market the composition of these products
are kept secret; fragrance secrecy has been considered to be legal due to a giant
loophole in the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973. According to the
act, the cosmetics ingredients have to be properly listed on product labels, but
fragrance ingredients are exempted. Although, some fragrance ingredients may
pose potential health risks to the consumers (EarthTalk 2012). The ‘synthetic’
label associated with these compounds also decreases the economic interest (Bicas
et al. 2010). Nature-identical compounds can also be obtained via enzymatic
reactions which are highly specific, less expensive; their methods of production
yield less by-products and the products are comparatively pure (Cheng et al. 2015).
Artificial flavour substances are those compounds which have not yet been identified
in plant or animal products but can be used for the human consumption. In different
countries, important aroma chemicals like cinnamic aldehyde, benzaldehyde, methyl
salicylate, coumarin, phenyl acetaldehyde and vanillin were chemically synthesized
between 1830 and 1890. Due to their enormous potential, industries were set up in
Germany (1874), Switzerland (1876), the USA (1913) and Japan (1922). Eucalyptol,
ethyl vanillin, eugenol, etc. are some examples of the artificial compounds which are
nowadays widely used in different food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations
(Surburg and Panten 2006). The development of these artificial compounds is based
on the close interaction of multiple disciplines including flavourists, chemists,
toxicologists, technologists and chefs (Paravisini and Guichard 2017; WicocheaRodríguez et al. 2019). As the business and market of artificial flavouring substances
has grown enormously, the government authorities have now laid the foundation for
the legislation on their incorporation in foodstuffs and other items. According to the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA, the function of artificial flavour
compound is to impart flavour, which is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit
juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar
plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products or fermentation products
thereof. In Europe, all the flavour agents which are artificially added for edible use
have to be characterized and have to fulfil the criteria which are laid in the Regulation (Ec) No. 1334/2008 of the European Parliament (Sabisch and Smith 2020). The
permission for a new chemical to be used in products is given by an expert panel
which is assembled by the Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA),
which reviews the toxicological and usage data for each proposed chemical to assess
its safety. A list of the permissible chemicals, known as GRAS, for ‘Generally
Recognized as Safe’, is published periodically which includes the flavour chemicals
that can be used in food flavours. There are 2244 compounds in the FEMA- GRAS
list (Smith et al. 2011).
The artificial chemicals have the advantages of easier availability and relatively
lower costs as compared to natural molecules. However, safety, toxicity, allergic
reactions and side effects are the various disadvantages of the addition of chemicals
to the food items. Consumers also have a ‘chemo-phobia’ due to which they do not
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T. Malik and S. Rawat
used in different fragrances and sprays. These constitute proprietary chemical
formulas and because of the competition in market the composition of these products
are kept secret; fragrance secrecy has been considered to be legal due to a giant
loophole in the Federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1973. According to the
act, the cosmetics ingredients have to be properly listed on product labels, but
fragrance ingredients are exempted. Although, some fragrance ingredients may
pose potential health risks to the consumers (EarthTalk 2012). The ‘synthetic’
label associated with these compounds also decreases the economic interest (Bicas
et al. 2010). Nature-identical compounds can also be obtained via enzymatic
reactions which are highly specific, less expensive; their methods of production
yield less by-products and the products are comparatively pure (Cheng et al. 2015).
Artificial flavour substances are those compounds which have not yet been identified
in plant or animal products but can be used for the human consumption. In different
countries, important aroma chemicals like cinnamic aldehyde, benzaldehyde, methyl
salicylate, coumarin, phenyl acetaldehyde and vanillin were chemically synthesized
between 1830 and 1890. Due to their enormous potential, industries were set up in
Germany (1874), Switzerland (1876), the USA (1913) and Japan (1922). Eucalyptol,
ethyl vanillin, eugenol, etc. are some examples of the artificial compounds which are
nowadays widely used in different food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical preparations
(Surburg and Panten 2006). The development of these artificial compounds is based
on the close interaction of multiple disciplines including flavourists, chemists,
toxicologists, technologists and chefs (Paravisini and Guichard 2017; WicocheaRodríguez et al. 2019). As the business and market of artificial flavouring substances
has grown enormously, the government authorities have now laid the foundation for
the legislation on their incorporation in foodstuffs and other items. According to the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), USA, the function of artificial flavour
compound is to impart flavour, which is not derived from a spice, fruit or fruit
juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar
plant material, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products or fermentation products
thereof. In Europe, all the flavour agents which are artificially added for edible use
have to be characterized and have to fulfil the criteria which are laid in the Regulation (Ec) No. 1334/2008 of the European Parliament (Sabisch and Smith 2020). The
permission for a new chemical to be used in products is given by an expert panel
which is assembled by the Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA),
which reviews the toxicological and usage data for each proposed chemical to assess
its safety. A list of the permissible chemicals, known as GRAS, for ‘Generally
Recognized as Safe’, is published periodically which includes the flavour chemicals
that can be used in food flavours. There are 2244 compounds in the FEMA- GRAS
list (Smith et al. 2011).
The artificial chemicals have the advantages of easier availability and relatively
lower costs as compared to natural molecules. However, safety, toxicity, allergic
reactions and side effects are the various disadvantages of the addition of chemicals
to the food items. Consumers also have a ‘chemo-phobia’ due to which they do not
134
T. Malik and S. Rawat