Are Smoky BBQ-Flavored Chips a Health Risk? The Reason Behind Europe's Ban

With summer in full swing, Canadians are eagerly reaching for their favorite smoky-flavored chips and barbecue treats. However, Europe's recent ban on smoked flavors due to potential genotoxicity concerns is prompting a closer look at their safety.

In April, the European Union (EU) moved to ban several artificial smoke flavorings found in popular foods such as chips, cheese, barbecue sauce, and ham, citing potential health concerns related to cancer. Flavors like smoky bacon chips will be phased out across all EU countries over the next two to five years. According to a European Commission report published in April, cancer risks are linked to the purification process of smoke, which involves removing components like tar and ash before adding the flavoring to food.

“The relevant decisions are based on scientific assessments by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) which concluded that for all eight smoke flavorings assessed, genotoxicity concerns are either confirmed or can’t be ruled out,” the report stated. To achieve that smoky taste in snacks, sauces, and soups, food manufacturers often turn to smoked flavorings. These flavorings are created through a process called pyrolysis, where wood is burned and the smoke is carefully purified. This purification removes harmful elements like ash and tar, leaving behind a concentrated liquid smoke that can be added to food, according to the EFSA.

But the EFSA’s research linked smoky flavorings to genotoxicity, which is the ability of a chemical to damage the genetic material of cells, increasing the risk of developing conditions like cancer and inherited diseases. Some of the chemicals the EFSA cited in smoked flavors include styrene, which has been labeled as a probable carcinogen for humans, and benzenediol, classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as another possible carcinogenic substance. Due to genotoxicity concerns, the EFSA said it couldn’t establish a safe level of consumption for smoky flavorings. Since the possibility of DNA damage couldn’t be ruled out, a ban on the eight smoky flavors was deemed the most appropriate course of action.

What About Canada?

While Europe is phasing out smoky flavors, Canadians can still find these products on store shelves for now, according to Health Canada. Health Canada has acknowledged the European concerns. “Smoke flavorings are available on the Canadian market but must be safe when used as directed. Canada’s Food and Drugs Act prohibits selling food that contains a poisonous or harmful substance, allowing Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to take risk management action if a food is determined to be unsafe for any reason, including the use of inappropriate smoke flavoring,” a spokesperson stated in an email.

Health Canada and the CFIA have several surveillance programs in place to continuously monitor the levels of chemical contaminants in the food supply. One of Health Canada’s main surveillance programs is the Canadian Total Diet Study, which measures the concentrations of a variety of chemical contaminants in foods typical of the Canadian diet. Health Canada does not require premarket review for most foods, including flavorings, and doesn’t analyze individual liquid smoke flavorings, or other types of flavorings, for chemicals.

However, Health Canada said if a potential safety concern is identified, appropriate risk management actions would be considered. Keith Warriner, a food safety professor at the University of Guelph, noted that with barbecue season upon us, Canadians might be wondering why there is a ban in Europe but not in Canada. “So it is barbecue season, and that liquid smoke is essentially the essence of barbecue … all the charcoal, the wood,” said Warriner.

He explained that the reason smoky flavors are being banned in Europe “really goes back to the way the regulatory bodies are set up there. In Europe, they’ve got what we call the precautionary principle. So essentially you’ve got to prove something is safe for it to be approved,” he said. In Canada, he said, Health Canada has a different approach — you’ve got to prove it’s dangerous before regulators take it off the list.

“In Europe, they say ‘Look, we’ve got a bit of evidence that it could be harmful, but we’re not sure, but we’re not going to risk it,'” he explained. “Whereas over here we say, ‘Well, we’ll keep using it until something really devastating does happen.’ So those are the two kinds of approaches.”

Is It Still Safe to Consume?

One of the studies the EFSA based its conclusion on was a 2022 research published in Toxicology, which argued that liquid smoke products might contain hazardous chemicals generated during the wood-burning process. The study investigated the potential toxicity of the chemical mixture that defines liquid smoke flavorings. To do this, the researchers added it to a tissue culture and observed that it was killing the cells.

However, Warriner noted that when they conducted animal trials, most results were negative and the smoking flavoring did not show an increased health risk. He added that Canadian regulators might have reviewed the study and concluded that there is no evidence it is unsafe for humans, deeming it acceptable.

“And so they say, ‘OK, then we’ll call it generally regarded as safe,'” he said. Moderation is key, according to Warriner. Even if you’re concerned, he advises enjoying liquid smoke in moderation, like anything else. But for those who are still very worried, he adds that avoiding food and beverages with liquid smoke altogether is an option.