Greek plant-based cheeses face EU scrutiny over unauthorized rowanberry extract

Greek notification follows earlier European cases

Greek-made plant-based cheese alternatives sold through major retailers in Germany and Austria have come under regulatory scrutiny because their ingredient lists included rowanberry extract, a substance treated by authorities as an unauthorized food additive when it performs a preservative function. Cibum reported that listings at EDEKA and REWE in Germany and BILLA, MPREIS and SPAR in Austria identified the products as manufactured in Greece. Some listings also gave a producer address in Thessaloniki.

The case entered the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed, or RASFF, on 29 September 2026, when Greece notified the circulation of Belgian-origin rowanberry extract in the Greek market. According to Cibum, the notification followed an official market control and was classified as an information notification for follow-up. The risk decision was recorded as a potential risk.

The Greek notification extends the compliance issue beyond finished products sold abroad. It also points to exposure within a cross-border ingredient chain involving a Belgian-origin extract, Greek food manufacturers and retailers serving consumers in Greece, Germany and Austria. The available information does not identify the companies supplying the extract or disclose the commercial names of the affected cheese alternatives.

Preservative function determines regulatory status

Greek authorities concluded that the extract performs a technological preservative function in the finished food and must therefore be treated as an additive. Because rowanberry extract is not included in the EU list of authorized additives, the authorities found that it lacks the approval required under Article 4(1) of Regulation 1333/2008. Describing the ingredient on a label as a plant extract does not alter the technological role it performs in the product.

The distinction from sorbic acid is central to the case. Sorbic acid, identified as E 200, is an authorized preservative and takes its name from the rowan tree, where it occurs naturally as parasorbic acid. Rowanberry extract, however, is not the same substance as E 200 and has no separate authorization in the EU additive list. An ingredient that functions as an additive cannot be used outside that list merely under a different label description.

This interpretation creates a direct compliance concern for producers using botanical preparations for shelf-life purposes. Ingredient origin or a natural-sounding name does not exempt a substance from additive rules when it has a technological effect. Manufacturers and ingredient suppliers must therefore assess function as well as composition and labeling before placing products on the EU market.

German tests found more than 1,000 mg/kg

The issue had already reached Brussels in June 2025. A European Commission monthly report on suspected fraud in the agri-food chain recorded, following a German notification, a Greek-origin cheese substitute containing rowanberry extract and olive extract. The case was categorized as food containing an ingredient unauthorized in the European Union. The product's commercial name was not published, and two further European records subsequently followed.

Laboratory work by Lower Saxony's LAVES authority provided measurable evidence of the preservative effect. In 2025, the agency tested 32 vegan cheese alternatives and found more than 1,000 mg/kg of sorbic acid in two samples. LAVES said the acid originated from the rowanberry extract declared in the ingredient lists. Authorities consequently regarded the botanical extract as a source of preservative and as an unauthorized additive.

Together, the three European records, the German test results and the Greek RASFF notification show that the issue spans both finished-food distribution and ingredient sourcing. For Greek plant-based cheese producers, the immediate exposure is regulatory: formulations, supplier documentation and label claims may require review wherever rowanberry extract is used for preservation. Retailers and distributors in the three identified markets also face a need to verify whether listed products comply with the EU additive framework. The source material does not report a recall, sales suspension or enforcement penalty.