Algae, insects, cloned meat, nanomaterial ingredients: here is what novel foods are

Algae, insects, cloned meat, nanomaterial ingredients: here is what novel foods are

Food · ·

A novel food is any food or ingredient that, up until 15 May 1997 — the date on which the first European regulation on the matter (EC No. 258/97) was approved — no one had ever eaten before, meaning it had never been consumed in significant quantities in the human diet in Europe. Consequently, any food, but also any production technique, treatment or food technology (from insects to high-pressure pasteurisation of fruit juices through to nanomaterials) that affects nutritional properties and wa…

Novel foods are all those foods, ingredients and food production techniques for which no significant consumption can be demonstrated in any food tradition, past or present, in Europe. That is, they are essentially all foods that have never been systematically consumed in abundance by humans, but which, for various reasons, one would like to begin introducing into our diet. Insects, yes, and also synthetic meat, meat from cloned animals, unusual algae, foods obtained through innovative processes, even microorganisms and jellyfish. Not that it looks like a particularly appetising landscape, on the face of it.
Here, according to recent regulations, are the types of food considered novel foods and which will therefore need to be labelled as such (if and when they reach the supermarket):

It has been since 1997 that novel foods have had a regulatory framework in European food legislation, with Regulation (EC) 258/97. From that point on, all products or ingredients consisting of microorganisms, fungi and algae, products of unusual origin, born from a new production process generally never used before, have fallen within its scope. Not necessarily abstruse foods, but products that are not in common use, even though it is thought that sooner or later they could find a place on our tables.

Who knows when and whether we will truly find them in the supermarket. The regulation had not been updated since 1997 — an extremely long period given how food consumption, habits and technology have changed, partly thanks to the speed of transport and online communications, among other factors — and it now provides for a simplified process for the introduction of novel foods, as well as nanomaterials and new colourants, subject to the approval of Efsa, the food safety agency.

The new regulation was approved on 28 October 2015 by the European Parliament with 359 votes in favour, 202 against and 127 abstentions, thus laying new foundations for the introduction and sale of novel foods on the European market.

Nel piatto del futuro forse troveremo ogm, molte pillole e carne sintetica, non mancheranno insetti e alghe comunque cibi oggi impensabili. Emerge un quadro molto vario delle differenti culture alimentari dei diversi Paesi, legate come sono a stili e consapevolezze in continuo mutamento.
On the plate of the future we may find GMOs, many pills and synthetic meat, and insects and algae will not be missing — foods that are unthinkable today. A very varied picture emerges of the different food cultures of different countries, bound as they are to lifestyles and awareness that are constantly changing.

The interpretative difficulty of the old European regulations, the complexity of its procedural process and how heavily dated it had become at a certain point created the need for a new regulation. This one.

With its entry into force, it becomes somewhat simpler to add new entries to the list of novel foods in order to initiate their assessment for human consumption.

The new novel food regulation repeals the previous legislation (Reg. 258/97) and simplifies, bringing clarity

Novel foods, new foods, are now considered to be all those not consumed to a significant degree for human nutrition in the Union before the entry into force of that regulation, specifically 15 May 1997, as well as those with a new molecular structure and from new processes that affect that new molecular structure.

Continuity with the previous regulation is clear: the scope of this regulation remains in principle the same as that of Regulation (EC) No. 258/97. However, given the scientific and technological developments that have taken place since 1997, it was obviously appropriate to revise, clarify and update the categories that constitute novel foods.

Insects, algae and foods of mineral origin

Whole insects and their parts are included among novel foods. There should also be categories for foods with a new or intentionally modified molecular structure, as well as for foods from cell or tissue cultures obtained from animals, plants, microorganisms, fungi or algae, for foods obtained from microorganisms, fungi or algae, and for foods obtained from materials of mineral origin.

A category should also be provided for foods of plant origin obtained through non-traditional reproduction practices, where such practices bring about significant changes in the composition or structure of the food such as to affect its nutritional value, its metabolism or its level of undesirable substances.

The definition of novel food also includes foods consisting of micelles or liposomes.

Novel foods also concern nanotechnologies and, on a temporary basis, cloned animals intended for food purposes, at least until separate legislation is drawn up.

Excluded from the scope are products with specific vertical legislation, such as GMOs, enzymes, additives and flavourings, as well as vitamins and minerals that do not result in molecular differences such as to require novel food status.