Unless there is a shock shift, a full sitting of the 751-seat European Parliament (EP) will soon pass significant reforms to the EU’s now ‘not fit for purpose’ novel foods regulation – but widespread concerns remain.

Even though the draft opinion is set for adoption – probably Wednesday, October 14 according to an EP press officer – European Parliamentarians, NGOs, researchers and industry debated the content of the proposed regulation and broader concepts of safety and the place of technological food at a 2-day seminar at the EP in Brussels concluding today.

The safety and necessity of nanomaterials in food was high among ongoing concerns as was cloned animal foods which will temporarily rest within the legislation until separate cloning-specific proposals are adopted at an undetermined future point.

Less controversial were simplified application and authorisation procedures that should reduce time-to-market for nutrients and foodstuffs from outside the EU which can demonstrate tradition of use and ‘new’ nutrients and foods like insects, algae and fungi.

Perhaps the most significant of the reforms is that all applications will move from member state authorities to the European Commission and European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It is estimated this will reduced processing time from three years to 18 months.

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