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European Parliament takes hard line in debate about Amendments to the Novel Foods Regulation
Published: Friday 7 May 2010
The European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has voted to take forward a new set of proposed amendments into the 2nd Reading on the Novel Foods Regulation (expected to take place in July 2010).
The latest set of amendments suggested by the Parliament’s ENVI Committee introduces significant changes to the coverage of ‘nanotechnology’ and ‘nanomaterials’ in the position adopted by the EU environment ministers in March 2010.
According to a FoodQualityNews.com article, [t]he committee [...] declared food produced from nanotechnology processes must undergo a specific risk assessment before being approved for use and be labelled on packaging. The decision was approved by the influential committee with 42 votes in favour, two against and three abstentions. [...] The current proposal to update the novel foods regulation aims to simplify and centralise the procedure for authorising them. Only products included on the Community list can be placed on the market.’[...] Members also said that foods produced from nanotechnology must be prohibited from the EU list until they have been subject to proper risk assessment and more is understood about any potential health effects of nano-scale materials. The draft legislation defines engineered nano-materials as having one or more dimensions less than 100 nm. All nano-ingredients will need to be clearly labelled on the list of ingredients.‘
The Draft Recommendation of the ENVI Committee (for 2nd Reading on the Council position at first reading for adopting a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods) foresees a number of significant amendments for ‘nanotechnology’ and ‘nanomaterials’:
- ‘Amendment 10, Council position – amending act, Recital 6: (6) It should also be clarified that a food should be considered as novel when it is applied to a production technology which was not previously used. [...] Novel food should therefore include [...] foods modified by new production processes, such as nanotechnology and nanoscience, which might have an impact on food. [...]’
- ‘Amendment 13, Council position – amending act, Recital 7 a (new): (7a) Only nanomaterials entered in a list of approved substances should be present in food packaging, accompanied by a limit on migration into or onto the food products contained in such packaging.’
- ‘Amendment 28, Council position – amending act, Recital 20: (20) Test methods currently available are not adequate for assessing the risks associated with nanomaterials. [...]
- ‘Amendment 41, Council position – amending act, Article 2 - paragraph 2 a (new): (2a) Notwithstanding paragraph 2, this Regulation shall apply to food additives, food enzymes, flavourings and certain food ingredients with flavouring properties to which a new production process not used before 15 May 1997 is applied that gives rise to significant changes in the composition or structure of the food, such as engineered nanomaterials.’
- ‘Amendment 73, Council position – amending act, Article 8 - paragraph 1a (new): 1a. Foods to which production processes have been applied that require specific risk assessment methods (for example, foods produced using nanotechnologies) may not be included in the Union list until such specific methods have been approved for use, and an adequate safety assessment on the basis of those methods has shown that the use of the respective foods is safe.’
- ‘Amendment 81, Council position – amending act, Article 9 - paragraph 2 d (new): 2d. All ingredients present in the form of nanomaterials shall be clearly indicated in the list of ingredients. The names of such ingredients shall be followed by the word 'nano' in brackets.’
Explanatory Statement:
‘The position of the Council at first reading on novel food was adopted on 15 March 2010.
The Council has taken on board some elements of the first reading in Parliament. However, the most important amendments of the first reading have not been taken into consideration in an appropriate manner by the Council, [...].’
The European Commission had reacted to both the position of the Council and the position of the Parliament, agreeing with the Council’s rejection of the Parliament’s demand for labelling of nanomateraisl in food, but taking specific issue with regard to the procedure implied by the Council for the adaptation of the definition of ‘engineered nanomaterials’ to scientific and technical progress and to definitions agreed on the international level. In particular, the Commission notes in its Commission Communication (COM(2010) 124 final) that it ‘considers that the absence of a provision in the position of the Council in first reading allowing the revision of the definition to reflect the technical evolution implies the introduction of the ordinary legislative procedure for its revision. This would prevent this definition to reflect the best state of science and would have negative consequences for the innovation in the food industry. Such adaptation is designed to amend non essential elements of this regulation and should be adopted through delegated acts.’
(The Commission had previously made the same point in a Statement to the European Council (9th March 2010, 6163/10 ADD2).
Follow these links to find out more about the Review of the Novel Foods Regulation, to download the Commission Communication (COM(2010)124 final), or to download the Draft Recommendations of the European Parliament ENVI Committee (29th March 2010).