Novel Food proposal to limit exclusivity rights

The EU's proposal to revise the Novel Food Regulation would allow all food companies to market approved novel foods in most cases, according to Brussels-based food and nutrition policy consultancy EAS.

Pieter Lagae, regulatory adviser at EAS, said the revision would allow for more general use of approved novel foods. Currently, the Regulation links the authorised use of a novel food to a specific applicant.

"Only the applicant can benefit from the approval and others should put forward a separate dossier before they can market similar products," Lagae said. "The new proposal abolishes the current exclusivity right, so all food companies would be able to market approved novel foods."

However, while the proposal was for the majority of authorisations to be generic, there was still a provision for data protection for a limited period of time, Lagae added. "Data protection could be granted only in justified cases for newly developed scientific evidence and/or proprietary data, with five-year exclusivity."

Meanwhile, the organisation representing European food and drink manufacturers, CIAA, said decisions on the Regulation revision should be harmonised across Europe and speeded up.

The CIAA said it also wanted the approvals process to permit companies to gain some financial advantage for being first to market with a novel food or ingredient.