Opening up the superfood highway

Superfood is a term which has become well established with consumers. The term, initially associated with produce such as leafy vegetables and tomatoes, is now applied to increasingly more exotic produce.

But what of novelty? I am not talking creativity, innovation or originality but the legal restrictions of the European Novel Food Regulation.

Back in May this year, we were looking forward to the proposal for the revision of the Regulation, especially with regard to a reduction of barriers to trade for produce from third countries. The process has moved on and the first round of consultation has closed, but we still have the current requirement that any foods that do not have a significant history of consumption within the EU before May 1997 require pre-market approval.

Two superfoods to receive much attention are açai and goji berries (lycium barbarum). Açai palm does have a history of safe consumption in Europe prior to May 1997, so there are no novel foods control issues around its use.

Gojis, or wolfberries, have a significant history of consumption as a food supplement and therefore do not fall within the scope of the Novel Food Regulation for this application. However, the UK Food Standards Agency has advised that it has no record of a significant history of consumption of lycium barbarum as a food ingredient and it may therefore be subject to the Novel Food Regulation.

Now that the European Food Safety Authority has concluded that the safety concerns raised regarding a potential relationship between acute hepatitis and the consumption of noni juice (approved as a novel food in 2003) were unfounded, we can hopefully look forward to easier access for such traditional third-country produce. In the meantime, however, before marketing new exotic superfoods, remember novelty has more than one meaning!

Kath Veal is international regulatory team leader at Leatherhead Food International​