In the wake of Brexit, some EU members states questioned the use of fortified flour in compound foods destined to the EU market, specifically if the final product should also be fortified to a significant amount ( ie, the nutrients should be present at a minimum of 15% of the reference nutrient intake level).
After chasing clarification from the European Commission for over a year, the secretariat has now seen an extract of the minutes of the discussion that took place at the Commission’s General Food Law meeting back in October 2021.
The Commission’s stated view was that: “…if a compound food is made with an ingredient that is fortified to a significant amount, the final food is not required to be fortified to a significant amount to be placed legally on the Union market.”
This confirms that products made in the UK using fortified flour can continue to be sold freely in the EU, and that the same applies to products made in the EU using fortified flour produced in Great Britain or Northern Ireland.
As a reminder, GB flour can be exported and sold in Europe either unfortified or fortified to a significant amount, and the nutrients should always be listed in the ingredients list.
Because it is mandatory to fortify flour in GB, the nutrients do not need to be listed in the nutrition panel. However, if exporting EU-compliant fortified flour to the EU, the added nutrients should also be listed in the nutrition panel.
