Brussels, 25/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - The precautionary principle guided the European Parliament's environment, health and food safety committee, chaired by Giovanni La Via (EPP, Italy) when it voted, in Strasbourg on Monday 24 November, on the draft legislation of December 2013 which aims to amend the novel food regulation (258/97/EC). Following the line of rapporteur James Nicholson (ECR, UK), the committee agreed with the aim of making the authorisation procedure easier for these new foods produced after 1997 but were completely against the cloning of animals for food and nanomaterials (see EUROPE 11127 and 10988).
MEPs voted to add a paragraph to the text calling for legislation specifically on cloning and demanding that, while awaiting the future directive on the subject, all food products derived from cloned animals or the offspring of cloned animals be duly labelled.
They subscribed to the robust definition of nanomaterials recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), with its 10% nanoparticle threshold for an ingredient to be described as a nanomaterial.
MEPs also call for a moratorium on the use of nanomaterials in foodstuffs while EFSA develops appropriate methods of risk assessment to evaluate the safety of these substances derived from new technologies.
Foods must prove their safety before authorisation in the EU. To this end, MEPs call for clear guidance from EFSA on the data needed to provide a “history of safe use” for traditional food imported from third countries and to which European consumers are not used.
BEUC hails the vote. The European Consumers' Bureau (BEUC) immediately welcomed the committee vote, saying it sent a strong signal that EU rules must change to address the rapid pace of food innovation and adequately protect consumers. “We are thrilled consumer protection was put at the forefront in assessing novel foods. It was crucial for the Parliament to update the list of novel foods such as lab-produced meat”, said Camille Perrin, BEUC's Senior Foods Policy Officer. She added: “The mere fact a food such as insects has been consumed in a country for many years should not lead to an assumption on its safety. We are glad EFSA's help is being sought to determine histories of safe use of foodstuffs traditionally eaten outside the EU”. (AN)