EU regulation on novel food incorporated into the EEA Agreement

From the left: Mr Václav Navrátil and Mr Gianluca Grippa, Head of division, Western Europe Unit, European External Action Service

The “Novel Food Regulation” was adopted by the European Union in 1997 and provides detailed rules on the authorisation of novel foods, food ingredients and processes. Novel food is defined as “foods or food ingredients which have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the EU before 15 May 1997”.

The 1997 regulation originally contained rules on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), but these were taken out of the regulation when the EU adopted more specific rules on GMOs. Therefore today’s regulation on novel food does not contain any rules on GMOs.

One example of novel food is stevia, a natural sweetener extracted from the plant species Stevia rebaudiana, which has been used for over 1 500 years in South America. Another example is insects used for human consumption. Although it is uncommon in the Western world, insects form part of the diet of about 2.5 billion people in countries such as Thailand, Mexico, India and Cameroon.

The EU regulation on novel food applies to both stevia and insects, as no EU Member State has been able to confirm a significant history of their use as food prior to 1997. The regulation determines that foodstuffs from other cultural backgrounds must be proved to be completely harmless to health before being approved for human consumption.

The regulation sets specific labelling requirements in order to ensure that the consumer is informed of the composition, nutritional value or nutritional effects and intended use of the food that renders a novel food or food ingredient no longer equivalent to an existing food or food ingredient.

The Commission has submitted a proposal for a revised regulation on novel food, which has been put forward for discussion in the European Parliament and the Council.

Also adopted at the Joint Committee meeting were two decisions to incorporate an EU regulation on the approval and market surveillance of two-or three-wheeled vehicles and quadricycles, and an EU regulation on the sound level of motor vehicles and of replacement of silencing systems.

The EEA Joint Committee, chaired this semester by the EU, is responsible for the day-to-day management of the EEA Agreement. It provides a forum for the EEA EFTA States and the EU to exchange views and take decisions by consensus to incorporate EU legislation into the EEA Agreement.

Full list of EEA Joint Committee Decisions adopted on 11 June 2015.

Texts of EEA Joint Committee Decisions adopted in 2015.