Biotechnology could transform part of the food industry, offering solutions to some of the pressing challenges of our time, such as food security, sustainability, and nutrition. However, the implementation of biotechnological advancements into our food systems is not without its challenges. Central to the successful implementation of these novel technologies is a robust regulatory framework—commonly referred to as the Novel Food law.
Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 15 May 1997, when the first Regulation on novel food came into force. ‘Novel Food‘ can be newly developed, innovative food, food produced using new technologies and production processes, as well as food which is or has been traditionally eaten outside of the EU.
The underlying principles underpinning Novel Food in the European Union are that Novel Foods must be: (I) Safe for consumers, (II) Properly labelled, so as not to mislead consumers and (III) If novel food is intended to replace another food, it must not differ in a way that the consumption of the Novel Food would be nutritionally disadvantageous for the consumer.
Pre-market authorisation of Novel Foods on the basis of an evaluation in line with the above principles is necessary. This body of legislation is crucial for ensuring that for example biotechnologically derived food products are safe, ethically produced, and transparently marketed. By providing clear guidelines and standards, novel food law plays a pivotal role in protecting public health, fostering consumer trust and enabling the responsible adoption of cutting-edge biotechnological innovations in the food industry.
However providing a well documented novel food application is rather expensive and companies often have a lot of questions on how to set up such an application and which information is required.
Therefore EFSA launched a call for expressions of interest to identify small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the area of novel foods that are interested in receiving EFSA’s advice on requirements for an application to obtain the authorisation to put their novel food in the European Union market. This call aims to raise awareness and facilitate access for SMEs to the general pre submission advice (GPSA) service. This service can be requested at any moment before the submission of an application, however this call focuses on the two specific stages that can be of special interest for SMEs with no or limited experience in submitting a novel food application, namely:
- on the very early stage of the development of the novel food, even before starting the studies that will be included in the application
- on the latest stages of the preparation of the application, when most of the information that will be included in the application is already available to the SME.
The call will remain opened until 31 October 2024. More information about the submission form and the call text can be found here.
