[3] Applicants can consult the guidance document compiled by the European Commission,[4] which highlights the scientific information and the safety assessment report required in each case.
[9] In its current format, exotic fruit and vegetables, which have a long history of safe use outside of the European Union, fall within the definition of a novel food.
This has long been an issue of contention for food manufacturers and producers outside the EU who view this as an economic trade barrier.
[12] The Baobab Dried Fruit Pulp novel food application, pioneered by John Wilkinson, a botanical regulatory consultant (together with his client Phytotrade Africa) was also the first successful submission to demonstrate safety without the need for animal testing.
[13] This has lowered the costs for approval from an average of €10 million to less than €100,000 and thus opened the EU to access non-Western fruits, vegetables and nutraceuticals while at the same time saving unnecessary animal testing.
[14] However, the revision came to a standstill on 28 March 2011 when the three Institutions failed to reach agreement at a final conciliation meeting on the issue of cloning.
[19] Following the 2011 standstill, the Commission decided to table a new proposal in December 2013, limiting its scope to the safety of novel foods, where a general agreement had already been reached in the previous dealing, while deferring the cloning issue to separate legislation.
[22] To date, more than 90 novel foods have been approved for sale in Canada including a number of canola, corn, cottonseed and flax crop lines.
[citation needed] China maintains a list of novel foods including Cordyceps militaris fruiting body, Moringa oleifera leaf, inulin, and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, totalling 149 items as of December 2023.