Novel food

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Novel food is defined as a type of food that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union prior to May 1997.

Novel food applications are processed according to the Novel Foods Regulation, which among other stipulations states that

Foods and food ingredients falling within the scope of this Regulation must not:

- present a danger for the consumer,

- mislead the consumer,

- differ from foods or food ingredients which they are intended to replace to such an extent that their normal consumption would be nutritionally disadvantageous for the consumer.

Among the novel food applications are transgenic foods, cholesterol-lowering foods, and foods for which approval is sought mainly because they are less expensive for the food industry to produce.

Companies can also seek approval through the substantial equivalence application procedure. The applicant has to show that their product is substantially equivalent to an existing product on the market, for example a novel extract of an existing fruit or herb. This has been used to great success by companies involved in the manufacture and marketing of nutraceuticals and oral cosmeceuticals.