FoodEurope Issue 4 2016

industry news
11
EFSA publishes two new guidance documents
EFSA has published two guidance documents on novel food and traditional food from third countries to help ensure that
these foods are safe before risk managers decide whether they can be marketed in Europe.
EFSA developed the guidance following the adoption of the new European regulation on novel food in November 2015.
The regulation, which replaces the previous one from 1997 and comes into effect in January 2018, introduces a
centralised assessment and authorisation procedure. EU risk managers will decide on the market authorisation of novel
foods and may ask EFSA to conduct a scientific risk assessment to confirm their safety.
What are novel and traditional foods?
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 (eg oil rich in omega-3
fatty acids from krill), food obtained through the application of new technologies (eg
nanotechnology) or by using new substances (eg 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 (eg chia seeds, baobab fruit, insects, water
chestnuts).
Guidance on requirements
The new guidance documents explain in detail the kind of information applicants need to provide for risk assessment.
They also clarify how to present this information before EFSA can assess the safety of the novel or traditional food.
Applicants submitting novel food applications need to present data describing the product. Dossiers should include data
on the compositional, nutritional, toxicological and allergenic properties of the novel food as well as information relating to
the production process, and the proposed uses and use levels.
EFSA addresses traditional food from third countries (non-EU countries) in a separate guidance document. Applicants
need to present evidence of safe use of the traditional food in at least one country outside of the EU for a period of at
least 25 years. EFSA and Member States will assess the evidence in parallel procedures. n
Food Banks Canada releases HungerCount 2016
The number of people accessing Canadian food banks increased for the third
consecutive year in 2016, and is now 28% higher than before the 2008-2009
recession, according to a national study released by Food Banks Canada.
In total, 863,492 people received food from a food bank in March 2016; 307,535
were children – more than one-third of all people accessing the service.
Food banks in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia led the national increase.
These provinces each experienced jumps of 20% in the number of people accessing
food banks in March 2016 as compared to 2015.
“No one should need to access a food bank in a country as prosperous as Canada,” said
Shawn Pegg, Director of Policy and Research at Food Banks Canada, which coordinated the
national study involving more than 4,000 food programs. “The fact that more than 860,000 people access a food bank
each month shows that we need to break from the past in our approach to hunger and poverty.”
HungerCount 2016 makes policy recommendations to federal, provincial and territorial governments to reduce the need
for food banks. These include:
n The adoption of a national poverty reduction strategy, with measureable targets and adequate funding, by 1 October
2017.
n Changes to social assistance to reduce food insecurity and increase labour force participation.
n Real steps toward a basic income in Canada.
n Investments to address the shocking levels of food insecurity in Northern Canada.
“We were pleased to see federal improvements to both child benefits and pensions in the past year,” continued Pegg. “The
HungerCount shows, however, that there is still much more to be done.” n
www.foodmagazine.eu.com issue four | 2016