Can I make a negative claim on this product?

Can  I  make a negative claim  on the product:

* without added preservatives?

if in  the product is found to contain: 1.7 mg / l benzoate and 2 mg / l sorban?

* preservatives are not added to the product separately, these quantities are measured there only because these substances are found in the flavourings used to make the product(carry – over  principle ...)
* I can also appeal in this case that they are there only from the carry  - over  principle  according to the EU Regulation no. 1333/2008? (article 18 )


* or Regulation 1333/2008 and the carry- over  principle is only applicable in order to avoid the inclusion in the composition of the product of transfer additives which have no function in the final product, but cannot be used  if a negative claim on preservatives is made in a drink?  

And in this case, it doesn't really matter if the preservatives are "added" directly through the preservatives that are added there - or are "added" through the flavour, because flavour contains them ... and such a negative claim “ without added preservatives “   cannot be used ?  ?

If you really want (or are being pushed ;) ) to make this claim then honestly I'd ask for specific regulatory advice from an appropriate body in the country/ies in which you want to sell the product, as I don't recall seeing much EU-level guidance on so-called "negative claims" but this one sits in an interesting area, so is likely to come down to the views of the particular bodies regulating labelling in the places you're selling the product.

I understand your point r.e. carry-over, but being non-declarable isn't necessarily the same as a substance not being there at all, and I expect that the average consumer would read "no added preservatives" as implying that no preservatives have been used, irrespective of whether that is by you during final manufacture or by one or more of your raw material suppliers.

Personally I would not be comfortable making this claim, as I think it sits on very questionable footing with regard to Article 7 of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 and Article 16 of Regulation (EC) 178/2002.

 For me personally, it is a problem to label the product like this, because in this case I can use the aroma even with a higher  content of preservatives - and I will still be able to claim that the product does not contain added preservatives. ???

Hi,

to use flavours with higher content of preservatives is not an option. This is exactly the reason why the the legislator has set max values e.g. for propylenglycol in finished products. And in Germany we have had several court proceedings more than one decade ago.

For your first point IMO it is possible to claim "without added" instead of "without". e.g in chocolate you may find some benzoic acid from fermentation w/o any preserving power in the finished product. 

This is accepted since years e.g. in Germany. I have not seen any action of authorities in the last decade on this claim.

Rgds

moskito

Thank you