A decision by the European Commission to ban the use of harmful smoke flavourings could spell the end of the iconic Dutch “smoked” sausage, Dutch media are reporting.

A special EU committee is looking at ending the use of flavourings in sausages and other products on Wednesday following research showing the process to produce an artificial smokey taste leaves harmful chemicals that have been linked to cancer and infertility.

Dutch rookworst, or smoked sausage, whose most famous producers are Hema and Unox, used to be smoked over a fire until the 1970s. That option would not be an alternative if the flavouring is discontinued, a Unilever spokesman told the AD, because of the detrimental effects of wood smoke on human health and the environment.

The traditional smoked sausage, which is now boiled and smoke-flavoured, put Unox on the map 87 years ago. But all is not lost, the spokesman said. “If there is a ban on the current flavourings there will probably be a transition period in which we can look for other solutions to preserve the taste,” he told the paper.