Blueberry Flavour | whatsinit

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Blueberry flavour is a food flavouring ingredient — available in natural, nature-identical, or artificial forms — used to impart or enhance a blueberry taste and aroma in foods and beverages such as yoghurts, confectionery, beverages, baked goods, and dairy desserts. It is typically a complex mixture of aromatic compounds (esters, aldehydes, and terpenes) derived from blueberry fruit extracts or synthesised to mimic the fruit's flavour profile.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Food flavouring ingredients, including blueberry flavour, are required by law to obtain prior approval from regulatory bodies such as the FDA or EFSA in terms of toxicological data and intended use levels, and are used at low concentrations consistent with GRAS status under the FEMA expert panel programme. No IARC classification or specific ADI has been established for blueberry flavour as a category; individual constituent compounds (e.g., synthetic esters) are evaluated separately by JECFA and FEMA. At typical food-use concentrations there is no established evidence of harm to the general adult population; however, inhalation of high concentrations (e.g., in vaping products) carries distinct risks not evaluated under food-use GRAS assessments.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	Food flavourings including blueberry flavour are governed by Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties. EFSA's Panel on Food Additives and Flavourings (FAF) is responsible for safety evaluations of flavouring substances. Specific constituent compounds must be individually authorised on the EU Union list of flavouring substances; blueberry flavour as a category does not carry a dedicated E-number. No specific maximum use level is mandated at the category level; use is at GMP/quantum satis.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Blueberry flavour falls under the permitted category of 'Natural flavours and natural flavouring substances / Nature-identical flavouring substances / Artificial flavouring substances' regulated under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011, Appendix A. Permitted at GMP levels across multiple food categories including margarine, fat spreads, fish products, and beverages. Labelling must declare the class name (e.g., 'Nature-Identical Flavouring Substance' or 'Artificial Flavouring Substance') as specified under FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Natural and artificial flavouring substances, including blueberry flavour, are regulated under 21 CFR 172.515 (synthetic flavouring agents) and 21 CFR 182.20 (natural flavouring substances, GRAS). FEMA expert panel evaluates and determines GRAS status for individual flavouring compounds. Labels may declare blueberry flavour collectively as 'natural flavour', 'artificial flavour', or 'natural and artificial flavour' without naming each constituent.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Infants — EFSA guidance explicitly calls for special consideration of dietary exposure in infants and young children when evaluating flavouring substances, as this population may be more vulnerable to additive compounds; parents should check whether infant-specific food products use age-appropriate flavouring formulations.

Other — Individuals with known hypersensitivity or allergy to specific flavouring compounds (e.g., esters or terpenes common in fruit flavourings) should exercise caution, as the exact constituent chemicals in proprietary blueberry flavour blends are often not individually disclosed on product labels per FDA and FSSAI labelling rules.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1FDA. Types of Food Ingredients — Flavors and Spices. fda.gov
2FSSAI. Appendix A: List of Food Additives — FSS (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011. fssai.gov.in
3FDA. Food Additive Status List — Synthetic Flavoring Substances (21 CFR 172.515), 2026. fda.gov
4EFSA. Guidance on the data required for the risk assessment of flavourings to be used in or on foods (Revision 2), 2022. efsa.europa.eu
5PubMed. Policy, toxicology and physicochemical considerations on the inhalation of high concentrations of food flavour, 2020. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Independently researched5 citations