Novel Foods Workshop to Address Regulation Developments

03 Oct 2014 --- The cornerstone of EU Food Law is the general principle that food and food ingredients shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Prof. Hans Verhagen is Senior Scientific Advisor “Nutrition and Food Safety” at RIVM Netherlands and a board-certified toxicologist. He is a member of the EFSA-NDA panel and chairs the Novel Foods working group.

He works on health claims, novel foods, integrated risk-benefit assessment, etc. During the Novel Foods Workshop where the effects of regulation on novel foods are to be discussed, he elaborates on the developments in the field of novel food regulation. The workshop will be held on 28-29 October 2014 in Cascais, Portugal.

The basics of the Novel Foods regulation covers novel foods and novel food ingredients NF/NFI that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the European Union before 15 May 1997. NF/NFI falling within the scope of this Regulation must not: present a danger for the consumer, mislead the consumer, and differ from foods or food ingredients which they are intended to replace to such an extent that their normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for the consumer.

Novel food regulations is a very technical regulatory subject with many regulation numbers. But the regulation concerning NF/NFI evolves. Guidelines for applications have been published. Prior to market introduction of NF/NFI, a risk assessment needs to be performed to establish their safe use, which encompasses both the inherent properties of the NF/NFI and its conditions of use. As it is not always clear whether or not a food or food ingredient qualifies as a NF/NFI, recently a decision tree was developed. A proposal for an update of the EU Regulation has been published which may include traditional foods from 3rd countries, nanotechnology, as well as the submission and evaluation route.

More information on the evolvement of the guidelines during the Novel Foods Workshop. Information on the workshop can be found on www.eaba-novelfoods.org.