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ATOVA's July 2025 Newsletter! 🌻

  • Writer: Atova
    Atova
  • Aug 5
  • 11 min read

Updated: Sep 15


Welcome to the July edition of the Atova Newsletter! Thank you for staying connected with us - we're glad to have you along as we navigate the ever-evolving regulatory landscape together.

 

This month, we're sharing a glimpse into the current landscape of novel food regulations across the EU, UK, and US, along with key updates from around the world. Whilst also updating you on all things Atova! 🌍 

 

With best wishes

The Atova team 💚🌱

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📅 The countdown is on!

 

There are only 3 months to go until the Regulating the Future of Food Conference! We are excited to bring you another instalment in collaboration with Vireo Advisors, LLC, and co-located with The Future of Protein Production. 


On 29-30th October, at the RAI Amsterdam, we will be bringing together global experts, regulators, innovators and industry leaders to shape the future of food-tech. From key challenges to science-based assessments – we’ll explore the regulatory pathways that will define what’s next. 




Our agenda features an incredible line-up of global experts and regulators — including speakers from European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Food Standards Agency (FSA), European Commission (EC), and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — ready to tackle the biggest questions and opportunities shaping the future of food-tech.



Pricing:

🐦 Early bird: €945

🎟️ Delegate: €1,145

📍Onsite: €1,245

 

Join us as we tackle the biggest questions and opportunities for the future of food, find out more and secure your spot here.


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July has been a busy month at Atova. We took a break to enjoy a team summer lunch together, welcomed Sarah as our new Regulatory Scientist, and saw Hannah travel to Copenhagen for the Academy of Management meeting. Take a quick look at what we've been up to:

 

Team Summer Lunch

To celebrate a busy and productive first half of the year, the Atova team enjoyed a well-deserved summer lunch together. It was a great chance to step away from our desks, share good food and recharge for the exciting months ahead! 💚


Welcome

We're excited to welcome Sarah to the Atova team! Sarah joins our technical team as a Regulatory Scientist, bringing over 11 years of experience as a Study Director and Project Coordinator for a CRO specialising in veterinary medicines, feed additives, and parasitology. She holds a Master's degree in Meat Science and Technology, bringing with her a background in Animal Science. Sarah has successfully managed multiple projects through to dossier finalisation and is passionate about advancing sustainable proteins for all. Welcome to the team, Sarah!

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Academy of Management - Copenhagen

Hannah travelled to Copenhagen this month to take part in the 85th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management. The symposium focused on the emerging world of cultivated meat, with discussions covering labelling, public perceptions, regulatory challenges, and real-world industry and policy experiences. By bridging research and practice, the symposium aimed to generate actionable ideas for navigating breakthrough innovations in an evolving landscape.


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Here we let you know the latest European updates from July 2025, with data retrieved from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission (EC). 

 

Recent Novel Food Dossier and Traditional Food Notifications Received by EFSA

During July, six novel food dossier submissions were published on Open EFSA.


EFSA Validated Dossiers

There were six EFSA novel food dossiers validated by EFSA in July.



EFSA Published Opinions

There were three EFSA novel food opinions published on Open EFSA in July.

EFSA Public Consultations

There have been four novel food public consultations completed in July.


EFSA Working Group Meeting

The Working Group meeting held on 25th June and 11-18th July, discussed the update of the EFSA CBD Statement, the extension of use of the authorised pasteurised Akkermansia muciniphila, Vitamin D3 containing UV-treated mealworm oil, on modification of the authorised Chuta®- will be presented at the next NDA plenary meeting for further discussion and possible endorsement/adoption. The minutes for the meeting are available here.

 

EFSA QPS Update

EFSA Panel of Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) updated the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) on recommended microbiological agents intentionally added to feed and food.

Between October 2024 to March 2025, 47 microorganisms were notified to EFSA. In total, 41 of 47 were not evaluated because the 11 filamentous fungi, four Escherichia coli and one Streptomyces spp. are all excluded from QPS evaluation, a further 25 were already on the QPS list and two species had already been evaluated.


Of the four species evaluated, Bacillus sonorensis is recommended for QPS with qualifications, no bacitracin production and no toxigenic activity. Vibrio natriegens is recommended for QPS for production purposes only. Corynebacterium stationis was not recommended for QPS because of limited knowledge of occurrence in the food/feed chain and potential safety concerns. Additionally, Papilotrema terrestris was not recommended for QPS because of a limited body of knowledge.


Additional recommendations included:

✅ Lactobacillus paragasseri (formerly under Lactobacillus gasseri) is recommended for the QPS list

✅ The QPS approach can be followed if the qualifications for QPS are met due to the removal of a gene(s) of concern, by means of genetic modification.

✅ For QPS yeasts, used as active agents (viable cells), the qualification ‘for production purposes only’ was added for when they are used as production strains or as biomass (non-viable cells).


Read this update here.

 

EFSA Read-across Guidance

EFSA is advancing NAMs with its recent guidance on read-across for chemical safety assessment in food and feed. This new framework provides a clear, step-by-step approach for selecting source substances, assessing uncertainty, and integrating data to strengthen risk assessment conclusions. Read the full EFSA article here.

 

European Commission

On 1st July 2025, Regulation (EU) 2024/1987 on maximum levels of nickel in certain foodstuffs entered into force. This updates Regulation EU 2023/915 by setting maximum levels of nickel in various foodstuffs to ensure a high level of human health protection, particularly for sensitive groups (children and individuals with allergies). Find out more here.


The European Commission (EC) launched its new strategy, on 2nd July, to make Europe a leader in the world of life sciences by 2030. This strategy aims to reach this target through optimising research and innovation ecosystems, enabling rapid market access for life science innovations and boosting uptake and use of innovation. Read more here.

 

Article 4 Novel Food Consultations

There have been two Article 4 novel food consultations published on the EC website in July.

Standing Committee on Plants Animals Food and Feed

  • Committee on Novel Foods and Toxicological Safety

    • The summary of the meeting that took place on 10th April has now been published. A favourable opinion was taken on the draft Commission Regulation amending Regulation (EU) 2023/915 as regards maximum levels of inorganic arsenic in fish and other seafood. Read the summary here. The agenda from the meeting on 12th June available here.

  • Committee on Genetically Modified Food and Feed

    • The summary from the meeting held on 13th June can be found here. The Commission presented updates and on-going initiatives relevant to biotechnology (Biotech Act, Life Sciences and Bioeconomy Strategies) and the open consultations in that context.  

 

European Parliament Questions

The following question was submitted to the European Parliament for answering: Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008 requires food additives to be safe, technologically justified, non-misleading and beneficial to consumers. The re-evaluation of additives approved before 2009 was due by 2020, yet 30 % remain unassessed in 2025. Additives such as aspartame, last reviewed in 2013, fall outside this process. Most evaluations rely heavily on industry data and lack deadlines for future reviews.

  1. Can the Commission explain how outdated reviews still ensure consumer safety in the light of new scientific understanding?

  2. Does it have plans to rely more on independent academic studies?

  3. Can it explain how it will accelerate evaluations and re-evaluations and introduce time limits for authorisation decisions, as seen in other regulatory frameworks, such as for pesticide approvals?


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UK Advisory Committee on Novel Foods & Processes (ACNFP)

The 20th meeting of the ACNFP-PGT met on the 15th July to discuss genetically modified Soybean GMB151 X DAS-4406-6 RP2246, GM applications, genetically modified Soy Leghemoglobin MXY0541 RP735, and updates from the Food Standards Agency and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. The next meeting is due to be held on 24-25th September. You can view the agenda for the July Meeting here.

 

Novel Food Assessments

  • This application is an extension of use of already authorised product (RP). The applicant requested a modification of the specifictions of the product.

 

Novel Food Dossier Validations

Gourmey and Vital Meat have both had their novel food dossiers validated. This is great news for the cultivated meat industry. Find out more about these regulated product applications here.

 

DEFRA Policy Paper

This month DEFRA released a policy paper on 'A UK government food strategy for England, considering the wider UK food system'. This food strategy is set to help create a healthier, sustainable, more affordable and resilient food system that supports DEFRA's Plan for Change and the national missions. This document depicts the key challenges facing the food system, the future vision for the UK food system priority outcomes and steps towards delivery of the outcomes. Find out more about the food strategy here.

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US FDA

The FDA has extended the public comment period by 30 days (now closing August 18, 2025) for its proposed method to rank food chemicals for post-market assessments. The method uses a science-based, Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) approach to prioritise chemicals that may pose the greatest public health risks. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit comments to docket FDA-2025-N-1733.

 

The FDA’s Human Foods Program has published its proposed 2025 guidance agenda, outlining priority topics for new or updated guidance documents. Key new topics include draft guidance on action levels for opiate alkaloids in poppy seeds, the use of natural sources for food colours (e.g., fruit and vegetable juices), and identity and safety information for New Dietary Ingredient (NDI) notifications.

The full list is available on the FDA website, and stakeholders are invited to submit comments or suggestions via Docket FDA-2022-D-2088 on Regulations.gov. Guidance documents reflect the FDA’s current thinking and help stakeholders prepare for potential regulatory changes.

 

US GRAS

No new GRAS notices have been added to the inventory since March. However, several No Questions letters have recently been posted for precision fermentation proteins, including:

Only the No Questions letters have been uploaded so far. The dossiers still appear as "in progress for posting".

 

Ensuring Safe and Toxic-Free Foods Act of 2025

On 17th July, Senators Ed Markey and Cory Booker introduced the 'Ensuring Safe and Toxic-free Foods Act of 2025'. This bill, if enacted, will reshape the FDA's generally recognized as safe (GRAS) framework by requiring companies to submit GRAS notifications for all ingredients marketed under 'self-GRAS'. This bill will amend the FDCA's GRAS definition by excluding certain new or novel ingredients, whilst also having the potential to end the GRAS pathway altogether. Read more about the bill here.

 

US FAP & CAP 

One color additive petition (CAP) was approved in July

 

US CCC

There were no new No Questions letters from the FDA for Cell Culture Consultations in July. However, Mission Barns - who received a No Questions letter in March for CCC-008 (cell-cultured pork fat) - has now announced that it has obtained clearance to sell in the US following the issuance of a Grant of Inspection (GOI) from the USDA. This marks the third cell-cultured animal product to receive USDA clearance, following UPSIDE Foods (CCC-002) and GOOD MEAT (CCC-001), both of which were cleared in 2023. Mission Barns has announced that it plans to launch the cell-cultivated fat in meatballs and bacon in Q3.

Believer Meats has also received their No Questions letter from the FDA, however the Scientific Memo and Dossier are not available yet in the CCC Inventory. Whilst WildType received FDA clearance in May 2025, due to their product being derived from fish it does not fall under the USDA jurisdiction and only requires FDA clearance.

 

FDA'S Expanded Decision Tree

The FDA’s newly released Expanded Decision Tree (EDT) – a chemical toxicity and risk screening tool - uses fully structure-based questions to help classify chemicals more precisely, leverage large data sets, and inform safety decisions more efficiently. Learn more about the EDT here.

 

FDA Human Foods Program

The FDA and USDA are accelerating efforts to tackle concerns about ultra-processed foods and diet-related chronic diseases in the US. They have issued a joint Request for Information (RFI) to gather information and data to help establish a federally recognised, uniform definition of ultra-processed foods. This aims at increasing transparency for consumers. Find out more here.


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Australia and New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has recently approved updated definitions for genetically modified food in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. Find out more here.

 

Canada

  • One novel food assessment was published in July for Dyne-NAO®

  • Five non-novel determinations for food and food ingredients were published in July:

    • Miracle fruit (Synsepalum dulcificum)

    • Chironji seeds (Buchanania lanzan)

    • BioPB-01 - a dietary fiber blend

    • Mycelial biomass of oyster mushroom

    • Mycelial biomass of phoenix oyster mushroom (also known as summer oyster mushroom)

       

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations

  • Exploring the future of food safety at Osaka Expo 2025

    • On 8 July 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) participated in the public session “Cultivated Meat Journey 2025” at the Osaka Expo’s Osaka Healthcare Pavilion, hosted by Osaka University and project partners. The event brought together scientists, students, and stakeholders to engage in an interactive and forward-looking exploration of the possibilities of cell-based foods.

 

India

  • On July 18, 2025, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notified the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) First Amendment Regulations, 2025, introducing revisions regarding oils, food colors, meat sausages, packaged drinking water, food additives, and processing aids. The amendment will take effect on February 1, 2026.

  • View the list of approved products, ingredients, and applications under Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations, 2017 as of 10th July, 2025.




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