On November 10, 2016, the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") published two guidance documents on novel food and traditional food from third countries. "Novel food" refers to food that European citizens have not consumed to a significant degree prior to May 1997. It includes food from new sources (e.g., krill oil rich in omega-3 fatty acids) and food obtained through the application of new technologies (e.g., nanotechnology) or by using new substances (e.g., phytosterols or plant sterols). "Traditional food" is a subset of novel food. The term relates to food traditionally consumed in countries outside the EU. It includes foods made from plants, microorganisms, fungi, algae, and animals (e.g., chia seeds, baobab fruit, insects, and water chestnuts).
The mentioned guidance documents follow the adoption of the new European regulation on novel food (Regulation (EU) 2015/2283) from November 2015. The regulation, which replaces the previous one from 1997, comes into effect in January 2018 introducing a centralized assessment and authorization procedure. The new guidance documents explain in detail the kind of information applicants need to provide for risk assessment, and how it needs to be presented before EFSA can assess the safety of the novel or traditional food.
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