The Ministry also does not support the revision of the maximum permissible levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons for smoked products intended for distribution in other EU Member States.
The Ministry is actively working to maintain the traditional smoking rules currently in force for Latvia.
At the end of June, a new EU regulation on the non-renewal of authorizations for all primary flavorings for smoking and the removal of primary flavorings from the list of EU-authorised primary flavorings for use in or on foods and/or for the production of finished flavorings for smoking will enter into force, as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has concerns about the possible genotoxic effects of these substances on consumer health.
Latvia, together with some other EU Member States, has negotiated a longer transitional period of 5 years until 1 July 2029 for the use of smoke flavorings in meat, processed fish and fishery products, as well as cheese and cheese products, during which food business operators will still be able to use smoke flavorings.
Latvia is one of the few EU Member States that still smokes meat, fish, and cheeses using the traditional method of wood smoke.
The Ministry is currently actively working to gain the support of other Member States for Latvia to retain a derogation in EU legislation for traditionally smoked pork, hot-smoked chicken, hot-smoked sausages, hot-smoked game meat and traditionally hot-smoked fish, so that meat and fish processing companies working for the Latvian domestic market are not penalized.
Currently, besides Latvia, derogations for traditionally smoked meat products also apply to Ireland, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden, and for smoked fish products to Finland and Sweden.
