On June 6, 2017, the European Food Safety Authority ("EFSA") launched a new support initiative for small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") to submit applications for EFSA's approval of novel foods (excluding traditional foods) or feed additives. In accordance with this initiative, SMEs are allowed to ask EFSA to carry out a pre-submission check on their dossier from June to December 2017.

This pre-submission check, which will consist of a teleconference organized between EFSA's staff and an individual from the SME, is intended to provide SMEs with preliminary feedback on the format and administrative completeness of their applications, as well as to provide dedicated support to SMEs to speed up the transfer of such applications to the risk assessment phase.

This initiative is particularly relevant for novel food applications, which will be subject to new requirements as the new Novel Foods Regulation enters into force in January 2018.

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