Mapping of best practices and development of testing methods and procedures for identification of characterising flavours in tobacco products. Final report

• European Union

• Tobacco Lab Testing

The new EU Tobacco Product Directive 2014/40/EU (TPD) prohibits cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco having a characterising flavour other than one of tobacco. Although some other jurisdictions have legislation on tobacco flavour, no methods are currently available to assess characterising flavours. The overall aim of this project was to deliver a test approach for the assessment of characterising odours in tobacco products, by a combination of sensory profiling, chemical-analytical measurements, other methods, or a combination of methods. The tobacco industry and the food industry in general conduct expert panel and consumer research to test the flavour and other sensory characteristics of a product for purposes of successful product development.

In summary, the project consisted of carrying out four work packages (WP), in the time period August 2014-June 2015:

- WP1: Review the literature, with the aim to draft a review of the current methods and approaches that may be suitable for the objective determination of characterising flavours in tobacco products.

- WP2: Identify concept profiles, with the aim to draft three testing approaches, based on the output of WP1, for sensory analysis of tobacco products (including chemical-analytical measurements) applicable to tobacco product regulation.

- WP3: Optimise and peer-review the procedure, with the aim to test, refine and finalise the methodology that had been proposed based on the outcomes of WP1 and WP2.

- WP4: Assess the feasibility and impact, with the aim to check whether the overall aim, to deliver a method to decide whether a tobacco product imparts a characterising flavour other than tobacco, has been reached.