Novel food

Novel foods are regulated in Europe since 1997. Since then the scope of the Novel Foods Regulation has been subject of continuous discussion.

Basically, Novel Foods are foods and food ingredients that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree within the Community before the date of entry into force of the Regulation.

However, additional scope restrictions and definitions complicate the task to find out whether or not your product is considered a Novel Food.

We can help you to determine if your food product is a Novel Food and to identify the safety requirements you have to fulfil to obtain an authorization for placing your product on the market.

One Novel Food category for which specific rules apply is traditional food from a third country.

If you want to bring on the EU market food which has never been consumed in Europe, but which has a history of safe food use elsewhere, you will have to submit a specific application file.

Another example of products, that are explicitly included in the scope of the novel foods regulations, are foods containing or consisting of engineered nanomaterials. Specific provisions need to be observed when preparing their placing on the EU market.

The preparation of an application to be compliant with the Novel Foods Regulation requires an in-depth understanding of the rules and procedures. We offer our scientific and regulatory experience in the preparation of your application file in order to ensure conformity with the required standards. This will help you to save valuable time and increase the chance for achieving an authorization