Commission Regulation (EU) 2025/2084 of 17 October 2025 amending Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the use of quillaia extract (E 999) and Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 as regards the specifications for quillaia extract (E 999)

• CELEX: Regulation (EU) 2025/2084
• Articles: 8

Article 1

Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended in accordance with Annex I to this Regulation.

Article 2

Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended in accordance with Annex II to this Regulation.

Article 3

The Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012 is amended in accordance with Annex III to this Regulation.

Article 4

The food additive quillaia extract (E 999) that has been lawfully placed on the market before 9 May 2026 may be added to food in accordance with Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 until the exhaustion of stocks.

Foods, to which quillaia extract (E 999) that has been lawfully placed on the market before 9 May 2026 is added, may be placed on the market until their date of minimum durability or ‘use-by date’.

Article 5

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

Article 3 shall apply from 9 May 2026.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX I

ANNEX I

Part E of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 is amended as follows:

(a)

in category 14.1.4 (Flavoured drinks), the entry for E 999 Quillaia extract is replaced by the following:

‘E 999

Quillaia extract

170

(45)

(45):

Expressed as saponins’;

(b)

in category 14.2.3 (Cider and perry), the entry for E 999 Quillaia extract is replaced by the following:

‘E 999

Quillaia extract

170

(45)

excluding  cidre bouché, cydr jakościowy, perry jakościowe, cydr lodowy, perry lodowe

(45):

Expressed as saponins’;

(c)

in category 17.1 (Food supplements supplied in a solid form, excluding food supplements for infants and young children), the following entry is inserted after the second entry for E 969:

‘E 999

Quillaia extract

3350

(45)

(45):

Expressed as saponins’;

(d)

in category 17.2 (Food supplements supplied in a liquid form, excluding food supplements for infants and young children), the following entry is inserted after the second entry for E 969:

‘E 999

Quillaia extract

3350

(45)

(45):

Expressed as saponins’.

ANNEX II

ANNEX II

In Part 4 of Annex III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, the following entry is inserted after the entry for food additive ‘E 901 Beeswax’:

‘E 999

Quillaia extract

All flavourings used in the following categories:

05.2: Other confectionery including breath refreshening microsweets

4 mg/kg in the final food (expressed as saponins)

05.3: Chewing gum

2 mg/kg in the final food (expressed as saponins)

12.5: Soups and broths

2 mg/l in the final food (expressed as saponins)

14.1.5: Coffee, tea, herbal and fruit infusions, chicory; tea, herbal and fruit infusions and chicory extracts; tea, plant, fruit and cereal preparations for infusions, as well as mixes and instant mixes of these products

1,2 mg/l in the final food (expressed as saponins)

15.1: Potato-, cereal-, flour- or starch-based snacks

0,2 mg/kg in the final food (expressed as saponins)’

ANNEX III

ANNEX III

In the Annex to Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, the entry for ‘E 999 Quillaia extract’ is replaced by the following:

‘

E 999 QUILLAIA EXTRACT

Synonyms

Soapbark extract; Quillay bark extract; Panama bark extract; Quillai extract; Murillo bark extract; China bark extract

Definition

Quillaia extract is obtained by aqueous extraction of  Quillaia saponaria Molina , or other  Quillaia  species, trees of the family  Rosaceae . The extraction process is followed by clarification, filtration, ultrafiltration, concentration and pasteurisation. It contains a number of triterpenoid saponins consisting of glycosides of quillaic acid, polyphenols, carbohydrates, in particular polysaccharides and reducing sugars and, to a minor extent, proteins.

CAS number

68990-67-0

Einecs

Chemical name

Chemical formula

Molecular weight

Assay

Saponin content not less than 20 % on dried basis

Description

Quillaia extract in the powder form is light brown with a pink tinge. It is also available as an aqueous solution.

Identification

pH

Between 3,7 and 5,5 (4 % solution)

Purity

Water content

Not more than 6,0 % (Karl Fischer method) (powder form only)

Arsenic

Not more than 5 mg/kg saponins

Lead

Not more than 3 mg/kg saponins

Mercury

Not more than 0,5 mg/kg saponins

Cadmium

Not more than 0,5 mg/kg saponins

Calcium oxalate

Not more than 6 g/kg saponins

Microbiological criteria

Total aerobic count

Not more than 100 colonies per gram

Salmonella spp.

Absent in 25 g

Staphylococcus aureus

Absent in 1 g

Escherichia coli

Absent in 1 g

Yeast

Not more than 10 colonies per gram

Moulds

Not more than 10 colonies per gram’