Boost for British food industry supported by Conservative MEPs

Conservative MEPs have backed proposals that would allow new foods – such as the latest health food craze chia seeds – to be placed on the market with far less delay and bureaucracy.
The so-called Novel Foods Regulation updates legislation from 1997 and focuses on measures that will streamline the processes for approving new foods, particularly by having one single authorisation procedure for the EU, with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) taking overall responsibility for the process.
The current average approval time is 35 months but the new, centralised, approach will significantly reduce this time to 18-24 months.
To ensure smooth passage of the new rules, all matters relating to cloned animals have been separated out into another legislative proposal.
Conservative spokesman on the Environment and Public Health, Julie Girling said: “This proposal is welcome news both for the food industry and for food lovers.
“It is particularly encouraging for boosting innovation in the UK, which has Europe’s highest number of pending authorisations for new food products.
“Current laws are so cumbersome that they discourage food companies from investing in new products and technologies, hampering prospects for growth.
“This new law will give more incentives to boost the food industry, create jobs, and bring a whole wealth of new food products into our shops”.