Food and Chemical Toxicology 145 (2020) 111584 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Food and Chemical Toxicology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foodchemtox FEMA GRAS assessment of natural flavor complexes: Lavender, Guaiac Coriander-derived and related flavoring ingredients Shoji Fukushima, M.D., Ph.D. a, Samuel M. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. b, Gerhard Eisenbrand, Ph.D. d, Nigel J. Gooderham, Ph.D. e, F. Peter Guengerich, Ph.D. f, Stephen S. Hecht, Ph.D. g, Ivonne M.C. M. Rietjens, Ph.D., Professor of Toxicology c, Thomas J. Rosol, DVM, PhD, MBA h, Jeanne M. Davidsen, Ph.D. i, Christie L. Harman, MPH i, Vivian Lu i, Sean V. Taylor, Ph.D. i,* a Japan Bioassay Research Center ,2445 Hirasawa, Hadano, Kanagawa 257-0015, Japan b Havlik–Wall Professor of Oncology, Dept. of Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center., 983135 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-3135, USA c Division of Toxicology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE Wageningen, The Netherlands d Senior Research Professor of Food Chemistry & Toxicology, University of Kaiserslautern (Retired), Kühler Grund 48/1, 69126 Heidelberg, Germany e Dept. of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, Sir Alexander Fleming Building, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom f Tadashi Inagami Professor of Biochemistry, Dept. of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232-0146, USA g Wallin Professor of Cancer Prevention, Masonic Cancer Center, Dept. of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Minnesota, MMC 806, 420 Delaware St., S. E., Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA h Department of Biomedical Sciences, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, 1 Ohio University, Athens, OH 45701, USA i Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, 1101 17th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036, USA ABSTRACT In 2015, the Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) initiated a program for the re-evaluation of the safety of over 250 natural flavor complexes (NFCs) used as flavor ingredients. This publication, fifth in the series, evaluates the safety of NFCs containing linalool and/or other characteristic mono- and sesquiterpenoid tertiary alcohols and esters using the safety evaluation procedure published by the FEMA Expert Panel in 2005 and updated in 2018. The procedure relies on a complete chemical characterization of the NFC intended for commerce and organization of the chemical constituents of each NFC into well- defined congeneric groups. The safety of each NFC is evaluated using the well-established and conservative threshold of toxicological concern (TTC) concept in addition to data on absorption, metabolism and toxicology of both the constituent congeneric groups and the NFCs. Sixteen NFCs, derived from the Lavandula, Aniba, Elettaria, Daucus, Salvia, Coriandrum, Ribes, Guaiacum/Bulnesia, Citrus, Pogostemon, Melaleuca and Michelia genera, were affirmed as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) under their conditions of intended use as flavor ingredients based on an evaluation of each NFC and the constituents and congeneric groups therein. The FEMA Expert Panel published its first list of GRAS flavoring in­ gredients that included both chemically defined and NFC flavoring in­ 1. Introduction gredients in 1965 (Hall and Oser, 1965). A key part of the FEMA GRAS program is the re-evaluation of GRAS flavoring ingredients. The FEMA The Expert Panel of the Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Associa­ Expert Panel has completed two re-evaluations of FEMA GRAS chemi­ tion (FEMA), formed in 1960, has been the primary, independent body cally definedflavor ingredients and in 2015 expanded the re-evaluation evaluating the safety of flavoringingredients for use in human foods in program to encompass FEMA GRAS NFCs. For the safety evaluation of the United States. Flavor ingredients are evaluated for “generally NFCs, the FEMA Expert Panel developed a scientifically-basedprocedure recognized as safe” (GRAS) status for intended use consistent with the based on the chemical composition of the NFC (Smith et al., 2005). This 1958 Food Additive Amendment to the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic procedure was reviewed and updated in 2018 (Cohen et al., 2018a). Act (Hallagan and Hall, 1995, 2009; Hallagan et al., 2020). Flavoring Because the constituents of NFCs are typically derived from common ingredients can be pure chemically defined compounds or complex biochemical pathways, the constituents can be organized into a finite mixtures, known as natural flavorcomplexes (NFCs). To date, the FEMA number of well-established chemical groupings called congeneric Expert Panel has determined that over 2,700 flavoringingredients have groups. For the safety evaluation of each NFC, information is gathered met the GRAS criteria for their intended uses. * Corresponding author. Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association, 1101 17th Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, D.C, 20036, USA. E-mail address: [email protected] (S.V. Taylor). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2020.111584 Received 27 March 2020; Received in revised form 30 June 2020; Accepted 4 July 2020 Available online 16 July 2020 0278-6915/© 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). S. Fukushima et al. Food and Chemical Toxicology 145 (2020) 111584 Abbreviations HPBL Human Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes IFEAT International Federation of Essential Oils and Aroma BfR German Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung Trades CA Chromosomal Aberration IOFI International Organization of the Flavor Industry CF Correction Factor JFFMA Japan Fragrance and Flavor Materials Association CFR Code of Federal Regulations LC-MS Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry CG Congeneric Group LOAEL Lowest-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Level CHO Chinese Hamster Ovary (cells) MoS Margin of Safety DTC Decision Tree Class NFC Natural Flavoring Complex EFFA European Flavour Association NOAEL No Observed Adverse Effect Level EFSA European Food Safety Authority NTP National Toxicology Program ERS/USDA Economic Research Service/United States Department OECD Organization for Economic Co-Operation and of Agriculture Development FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations PCI Per Capita Intake FCC Food Chemicals Codex TD50 Dose giving a 50% tumor incidence FDA Food and Drug Administration TDI Tolerable Daily Intake FEMA Flavor and Extract Manufacturers Association TTC Threshold of Toxicological Concern FID Flame Ionization Detector UDS Unscheduled DNA Synthesis GC-MS Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry US-EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency GLP Good Laboratory Practice WHO World Health Organization GRAS Generally Recognized as Safe on the estimated intake, metabolism and toxicology for each constituent 2. History of food use congeneric group. The Threshold of Toxicological Concern (TTC) approach is applied to evaluate the estimated intake of each constituent Lavender, spike lavender, lavandin and related perennial flowering congeneric group (Kroes et al., 2000; Munro et al., 1996). In addition, plants in the Lavandula genus are herbs of the Lamiaceae family native to the potential toxicity of the unidentified constituent fraction is also the Mediterranean region. Southern France is one of the largest past and evaluated in the updated procedure. present producers of lavender oil (Guenther, 1949) and Bulgaria and Beginning in 2015, the FEMA Expert Panel has issued a series of calls China are now also major producers (Giray, 2018). Considered hardy for data requesting detailed chemical analyses for over 250 NFCs with herbs, the different species of Lavandula are now cultivated around the FEMA GRAS status. Members from the International Organization of the world, including in the United States, Australia, Russia and several Eu- Flavor Industry (IOFI), including FEMA, the Japan Fragrance and Flavor ropean countries (Guenther, 1949; Lis-Balchin, 2002a). Lavandin, a Materials Association (JFFMA) and the European Flavour Association hybrid between true lavender and spike lavender, has a floweringperiod (EFFA), in addition to the International Federation of Essential Oils and between that of true lavender (August) and spike lavender (September) Aroma Trades (IFEAT) have provided information in response to these during which it is harvested for use (Guenther, 1949). Lavender gets its data requests. NFC flavoring ingredients are often derived from botan- name from the Latin lavare meaning “to wash” due to its use by ancient ical plants that are also sources of familiar foods and spices. Due to the Romans to perfume bath water (Castle and Lis-Balchin, 2002). Users of large number of NFCs to be evaluated, the NFCs were parsed into groups lavender in Victorian England alternatively derived the name from the based on their constituent congeneric group profile. The congeneric Latin livere meaning bluish (Festing, 1989). Lavender is used as a culi- groups used for NFC analysis by the FEMA Expert Panel are provided in nary herb in foods and beverages and is a component in ‘Herbes de an appendix to the safety evaluation procedure (Cohen et al., 2018a) Provence’ blends that are popular for the flavoring of savory foods The first group of NFCs reviewed by the FEMA Expert Panel were (Grieve, 1970; Kehler and Schooley, 2006; Laget, 2005). Clary sage, derived from the Citrus genus and included orange, lemon, lime and another plant of the Lamiaceae