The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that unusual new food products must be closely screened under the EU’s novel food regulation, even if their ingredients have been proved safe.

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In a case assessing a health food product produced by Germany’s M-K Europa, the court said: “The fact that all the individual ingredients…have a safe history” is not “sufficient” for the novel food regulation to be waived.


Europa’s Man-Koso includes more than 50 fermented plant ingredients, such as brown and red algae, burdock roots and lotus roots.


The court also ruled a novel finished product could not be declared safe within Europe using non-EU safety records.

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