A cup of noni juice with DHA please
European Commission this week granting approval to two novel foods
for use as food ingredients. The move comes after an agreement
between member states in the Standing Committee for the Food Chain
and Animal Health.
The wheels of European bureaucracy continue to turn with the European Commission this week granting approval to two novel foods for use as food ingredients. The move comes after an agreement between member states in the Standing Committee for the Food Chain and Animal Health.
The approvals are for two non-genetically modified products, noni juice, and DHA-rich oil derived from microalgae.
Novel foods are foods and food ingredients that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997. In order to protect consumer health, novel foods must undergo a safety assessment before being placed on the EU market. Only products considered safe for human consumption are authorised for marketing, as laid out in the Regulation EC 258/97 of 27.1.1997.
Noni juice is the juice of the Indian mulberry or morinda citrifolia that grows in Polynesia and other parts of South East Asia. The authorisation - requested by the US based Morinda company - concerns the juice of the fruits as an ingredient to be used in pasteurised fruit drinks.
DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) rich oil, which is in this case derived from the microalgae Schizochytrium, was approved on request of the US based Martek Biosciences Cooperation for use at specified levels in dairy products, dairy analogues for vegans and lactose intolerant people, spreads and dressings, breakfast cereals, food supplements, dietary foods for special medical purposes and foods intended for use in energy restricted diets for weight reduction.
DHA is a polyunsaturated fatty acid, obtained from a variety of sources, used for several years in Europe.
