Green tea comes from the Camellia sinensis botanical, with leaves containing compounds called catechins, the main substance being epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG). These green tea catechins are widely consumed in the form of herbal teas, reconstituted beverages and dietary supplements containing green tea extracts of varying concentrations.

Following the latest scientific data exposing the potential harmful effects of a large amount of EGCG on the liver (liver damage), the European Commission has recently decided to limit the use of green tea extracts in order to ensure consumers’ food safety. 

The new EU legislation as regards EGCG for green tea extracts

Published on 30 November 2022, the new EU regulation 2022/2340 is applicable since 21 December 2022 (1):

• The regulation defines restrictions as regards to green tea extracts containing EGCG added to food. It sets the recommended daily dose at  800 mg of EGCG for food containing green tea extracts with the following mandatory mention on the labels for finished products: “Should not be consumed if you are taking other products containing green tea on the same day / by pregnant or breastfeeding women / by children under 18 / on an empty stomach”.

• However, the regulation specifies that this does not concern aqueous extracts of green tea which are used in beverages and which, after reconstitution in the beverage, have a composition identical to that of the infusion.

• It also stipulates that foods containing green tea extracts with epigallocatechin 3-gallate, which do not comply with these requirements and which were legally placed on the market before the entry into force of this Regulation, may remain on the market until 21 June 2023.

The obligations of manufacturers on the finished green tea products market

Many manufacturers use our green tea powder extract in their formulations. In order not to exceed the newly authorised daily dose, the quantities and dosages will have to be revised to guarantee finished products that comply with the regulations in force.

This implies that our customers need to know precisely the concentration of EGCG in our green tea extracts in order to verify their possible applications and legally integrate them in their finished products.

Natural Origins' response to industrialists to comply with EGCG constraints

In order to support our customers having to comply with this new European regulation, Natural Origins has a competent quality department available to answer these concerns. Indeed, our Quality and Regulatory department manager, Anne-Sophie Soteras (2) expresses herself on this subject and specifies below various essential points: 

• "The EGCG content varies depending on the type of tea and its origin. The green tea we buy generally contains between 0.5 and 2% EGCG. We can therefore deduce the concentrations of EGCG found in our extracts by taking into account the concentration factor.
  
  
• We can therefore give a theoretical limit of EGCG in our extracts.
  
  
• To date, we have also carried out analyses on the batches in stock and the levels found are well below the theoretical limit.
  
  
• We find a level of 0.95%, for example, on the last batch produced of our Green Tea Leaf Dry Extract 2/1 Organic reference for a theoretical value under 4% and on the last batch produced of our reference Green Tea Leaf Dry Extract TGE (Taste Giving Extracts) Organic a value of 4.33% for a theoretical value under 8%". 

This scientific information on the quantity of EGCG in our extracts can be consulted at any time in the technical data sheets relating to each botanical that we make available to our customers:

At Natural Origins we provide our customers with the information they need to comply with the new regulations based on our analyses and controls. Our customers can confidently, safely and effectively guarantee complete food safety for consumers, in accordance with the latest European regulations.

Please feel free to contact us.

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Sources :

(1) Regulation (EU) 2022/2340 of the Commission of 30 November 2022 amending annex III to regulation (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards green tea extracts containing (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate (Text with EEA relevance)
C/2022/8592 JO L 310 du 1.12.2022, p. 7–11 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2340/oj

(2) https://www.mynaturalorigins.com/en/blog/an-atypical-year-our-teams-speak-about-their-experience-and-future-challenges-part-1