EC to revise NFR at last

Neville Craddock, a food law expert who sits on the UK's Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, said revision was essential.

"The criteria for determining 'scientific' safety do appear to be excessively strict when they are applied to foods that are already available outside the EU, to the point where the implementation of the Novel Food Regulation may run counter to WTO rules. It is basically creating a non-tariff trade barrier and impeding economic development."

There was also a strong case for the introduction of generic authorisations for certain products, he said.

"The current regulation may result in an effective 'monopoly' being granted to a single company for the use of a traditional, naturally-occurring food, which on the face of it appears to be in conflict with the spirit of international law."

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