(1)

Food improvement agents (‘FIA’) refers to food additives, food enzymes and food flavourings, which are substances intentionally added to food for a technological or organoleptic purpose. The use of FIA is subject to a common Union authorisation procedure, laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1331/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2).

(2)

Pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2017/625, official controls are to be performed for the verification of compliance with the rules in the area of food and food safety.

(3)

Commission Recommendation (EU) 2023/965 (3) contains requirements on the monitoring of the intake of food additives and food flavourings authorised in accordance with Regulations (EC) No 1333/2008 (4) and (EC) No 1334/2008 (5) of the European Parliament and of the Council, namely on the collection of data on the presence and occurrence of food additives and food flavourings in food.

(4)

Pursuant to Article 92 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, a European Union reference laboratory is to be established where there is a recognised need to promote uniform practices regarding the development or use of the methods of analysis, test or diagnosis performed by the official laboratories designated in accordance with Article 37(1) of that Regulation. This is the case where the effectiveness of official controls depends on the quality, uniformity and reliability of those methods and results.

(5)

The establishment of a reference laboratory in the area of FIA is necessary to be able to perform official controls effectively within the Union. In particular, the establishment of a reference laboratory is needed in order to ensure a certain level of harmonisation as regards sampling criteria and analytical methods used for the collection of data on food additives and food flavourings, and to provide support to official laboratories in the area of food enzymes.

(6)

This Regulation should therefore establish a European Union reference laboratory for FIA,