Current status of new food declarations in the EU: half of new applications are terminated for the same reason

The current status of new food declarations in the EU is that half of new applications are being terminated for non-compliance with transparency laws. The European Commission defines "new food" as food that was not widely consumed in the EU before May 15, 1997. This includes innovative, newly developed foods and foods produced using new processes or techniques. Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 regulates these foods and requires that they be proven safe before being approved.

Since the entry into force of EU 2019/1381, which aims to make the risk assessment of the food chain more transparent, reliable, objective, and independent, 51 applications for new food products have been submitted. Two-thirds of these applications are still in the receiving stage, while 19 have been reviewed and nine have undergone the security assessment stage. The remaining 10 applications have been terminated.

The reason for the terminations is primarily related to non-compliance with transparency regulations and EFSA guidelines. The majority of the tests labeled in these terminations were related to the "Ingredient data and stability" section of the new food profile, including compositional analysis, stability testing, and analytical certificates.

Terminated applications are subject to a 6-month time penalty, during which they can be resubmitted without the need to repeat previously conducted tests. However, this delay can have serious consequences for the applicants, as the process is already lengthy. Therefore, applicants need to carefully plan and coordinate all parties involved in their new food processes to minimize the impact of these terminations.