If the kiwi, that little green fruit used to perk up our salads, was imported or grown in Europe today for the first time, it would need to be assessed by the EU novel food regulation.
Driven by science and technology, novel products are arriving regularly on the market. As diverse as they are new, they share one thing in common, before being marketed they must pass the safety assessment process for approval. To assess the safety of new food products, the EU introduced in the Spring of 1997, a new regulation on Novel Foods and Novel Food Ingredients. The regulation covers five categories according to new technologies or origins of foods or food ingredients not consumed before in the EU to any significant degree for human consumption. Given the diversity and scope of Novel Foods, each proposal is treated on a case-by-case assessment. (See Food Today Issue No.9 dealing with Novel Food risk assessment procedures).
The regulation requires a company wishing to market a novel product for the first time to submit their proposal to the food and safety authority in their respective country. Every EU member state has a competent authority to evaluate novel products. In the UK, Professor Janet Bainbridge chairs the government's Advisory Committee on Novel Food and Processes (ACNFP). Made up of 16 experts from various fields, the committee includes an ethicist who addresses consumer concerns. The approval process for novel foods, says Professor Bainbridge, is « very stringent ».
If considered necessary, the ACNFP committee can demand additional information on a new product or pass the submission to the Committee on Toxicology (COT), the Committee on Medical Aspects (COMA) and the Advisory Committee on Release to the Environment. (ACRA).
When a novel product is assessed for the first time in one EU country, the proposal is sent to all the other EU countries for their endorsement. If the other member states can't agree on a proposal decision, the case is passed to the Scientific Committee on Food (SCF), the most senior EU body on food safety issues appointed by the European Commission. This independent panel of experts oversees scientific and technical questions regarding consumer health and food safety, and in particular, questions relating to toxicology and hygiene in the entire food production chain.
The endorsement of Novel Food products by multiple independent food safety authorities guarantees their quality and safety. Summaries of committee discussions on Novel Foods are available on the European Commission's Directorate General for Consumer Policy and Consumer Health Protection website:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biotechnology/novelfood/index_en.htm
