ATOVA's October / November 2025 Newsletter! 🍁

Welcome to the October/November edition of the Atova Newsletter! We’re delighted to have you with us as we continue exploring the shifting world of food and regulatory innovation. This month, we take a closer look at the latest developments in novel food regulations from around the globe. 🌍 

With best wishes, 

The Atova team 💚🌱 

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What a busy month we've had here at Atova! The team have been having a great time attending some fantastic conferences across the Globe, including our very own Regulating the Future of Food conference we run in collaboration with Vireo Advisors.

Regulating the Future of Food Conference

Last week, the Atova team partnered with Vireo Advisors for the third Regulating the Future of Food conference at the RAI Amsterdam. The event brought together global experts, regulators, and innovators to explore how science, policy, and innovation are shaping a more sustainable future of food.

Day one opened the event with insights from sponsors Labcorp and Vow as they shared their industry experience and perspectives. This was followed by thought-provoking lectures and panels featuring speakers from Parima, Fera Science, Vireo Advisors, Aberystwyth University, NFX UK, Atova Regulatory Consulting, Microharvest, Corbion, Solar Foods, Nestle, Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture, and The Protein Brewery.

Throughout the event, delegates also heard directly from leading regulatory authorities, including EFSA, FSA, European Commission, FSSAI and FSANZ on the evolving global landscape of novel food regulation. Interactive workshops each afternoon encouraged collaboration on topics such as fermentation and precision fermentation risk assessments, the Cultivated Meat Safety Initiative, preparing regulatory submissions, and building regulatory sandboxes.

On day two, delegates attended the co-located Future of Protein Production conference for sessions on transparency, consumer trust, bringing cultured meat to market, and navigating protein innovation in the EU. Later, Ben Sutherland (FSANZ) and Vince Sewalt (IFF) shared insights on navigating novel food approvals followed by a global panel on novel food approval experiences from experts from innovative companies including Food Brewer, Arla, Verley, New Harvest, FEAST, and Cargill.

A huge thank you to all our delegates, speakers, and sponsors – Labcorp, Vow and Meatable – for making this year’s event such a success. Your insights and enthusiasm continue to drive collaboration and innovation across the global food ecosystem.

Singapore International Agri-Food Week

Hannah was in Singapore during SIAW and attended the Singapore Food Agency Novel Food Round Table on 3rd November, which brought together experts in food safety and regulation from the UK, China, Australia and New Zealand and Singapore. The absolute highlight was tasting products from The Protein Brewery, Solar Foods and Vow at the drinks reception!

The rest of the week was spent running up and down the escalators between the Agri-Food Tech Expo (AFTEA) and the Asia-Pacific Agri-Food Innovation Summit. Hannah joined a breakout session with Samson Lee from Nurasa, Thijs Bosch from the Protein Brewery and James Street from Protein Industries Canada where we discussed how Singapore´s food-tech ecosystem supports innovators to turn prototypes into scalable, market-ready solutions for rollout across APAC.

Emerging Applications of Microbes Conference

Fernando Rivero attended the Emerging Applications of Microbes (3rd edition) Conference in Leuven last week. This conference delved into cutting-edge applications, from sustainable agriculture and bioremediation to breakthroughs in human and animal health, circular economy innovations, and next-generation food technologies.  Fernando participated in the Panel discussion "The approval procedure for food produced through precision fermentation in the EU", together with Ana Afonso (Nutrition & Food Innovation Head of Unit at EFSA), Wim Soetaert (Founder at InBio.be) and Ben Souffriau (Chief Innovation Officer at Paleo), moderated by Kevin Verstrepen. 

The Cell-Ag- Ready Dialogue

On the 13-14 November, Hannah Lester will be speaking at the Japan Cell-Ag READY Dialogue 2025, the International Symposium on Cultured Cells for Food Use – Towards a Food-Bio-READY Society. Hannah will present on navigating regulatory approval in Europe, as part of discussions on Regulatory Science, Innovation, and Communication for the safe, responsible, and sustainable adoption of cellular agriculture technologies. This event will gather global experts, industry leaders and policymakers to exchange on the latest research, regulatory updates and market perspectives on cell-based foods.

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

EFSA Updates

Recent Novel Food Dossier and Traditional Food Notifications Received by EFSA

There was one novel food dossier and one traditional food notification received by EFSA in October.

• Defatted passion fruit seed extract (received 14/10/2025)

• Oleoresin of Haematococcus pluvialis containing astaxanthin (received 17/10/2025)

Validated Dossiers

There were two validated dossier published on Open EFSA in October.

• Application for a modification of the authorised Egg membrane hydrolysate as a novel food

  • Received on 10/12/2024 and validated on 06/10/2025 (10 months until validation)

• Application for a modification of the authorised Chitin-glucan from Aspergillus niger as a novel food

  • Received on 01/07/2025 and validated on 10/10/2025 (3 months until validation)

Dossiers Considered Non-valid and Withdrawn

There was one dossier considered non-valid and withdrawn during October. 

Name of Product	Dossier Received by EFSA	Declared Not Valid/ Withdrawn	Time until withdrawal
Request for a specific opinion on powder of chitosan as a novel food (NF 2019/0908)	15/05/2019	10/10/2025	59.5 months

EFSA Published Opinions

Two EFSA novel food opinions were published on Open EFSA during October.

EFSA Published Opinions

Two EFSA novel food opinions were published on Open EFSA during October.

• 
  

  • Dossier received by EFSA on 16/07/2023, validated on 19/01/2024 and opinion published on 27/10/2025 (28.5 months until opinion)

• 
  

  • Dossier received by EFSA on 26/11/2019 and the opinion was published on 03/11/2025

Name of Product	Dossier Received by EFSA	Validated	Opinion Published	Months until Opinion
Safety of changes in the conditions of use and the specifications of edible Jatropha curcas L. (Chuta) as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283	16/07/2023	19/01/2024	27/10/2025	28.5 months
Safety of synthetic cannabidiol as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283	26/11/2019	-	03/11/2025	71 months

EFSA Public Consultations

There were nine novel food public consultations completed in October.

• Application for authorisation of Spermidine hydrochloride (Spermidine-3HCl) as a novel food

• Update of the statement on the safety of cannabidiol (CBD) as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of Caesalpinia spinosa dried extract as a novel food

• Application for authorization of Dicholine L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (Dicholine L-5-MTHF) as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of Galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS) as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of S-Acetyl Glutathione as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of Dry biomass of Paecilomyces variotii KCL-24 as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of Root extract of Pelargonium sidoides DC. as a novel food

• Application for authorisation of Broad Spectrum Hemp Extract 70% as a novel food

EFSA Working Group Meeting

The 162nd NDA Panel Plenary meeting of the Scientific Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens was held on 23rd October. During this meeting, discussions were held on the draft opinion on the evaluation of the safety in use of plant preparations containing berberine as well as on the safety in use of plant preparations containing berberine and of the safety of use of hydroxycitric acid and plant preparations containing hydroxycitric acid. The agenda is available to view here.

The next meeting will be held on 19-20 November.

New EFSA Guidance on Microorganism Characterisation

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has today published new guidance on the characterisation of microorganisms to support the risk assessment of products used in the food chain. This guidance applies to those products that contain, are made from, or are produced using microorganisms, whether they are genetically modified or not. The new guidance outlines the scientific requirements for characterising microorganisms and, where relevant, their derived products. This is a key step in providing a solid foundation for hazard identification and clearly defines the data requirements needed for the risk assessment process of microorganisms.Several existing EFSA guidance documents will be impacted by this new guidance, either being fully or partially superseded. A complete list of the impacted documents is provided in appendix A of the new document. Read the full guidance here.

European Commission Updates:

No new Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed scheduled.

Article 4 Novel Food Consultations

• Azuki bean flour protein hydrolysate and enriched protein hydrolysate

  • The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) recently reviewed a consultation on azuki bean flour protein hydrolysate and enriched protein hydrolysate, both produced from milled azuki beans (Phaseolus angularis).The process involves treating azuki bean flour with a commercial proteolytic enzyme to produce the protein hydrolysate, which reduces the proportion of larger proteins in comparison to smaller proteins, peptides and amino acids. Through centrifugation and ultrafiltration, insoluble material is removed, while the protein fraction is enriched.

  • Conclusion: Not Novel Food: Since protein hydrolysis is an established process and does not alter the overall composition or nutritional value of the final product, these azuki bean-derived ingredients are not considered novel. The azuki bean flour protein hydrolysate and enriched protein hydrolysate will be used in a variety of food supplements similar to the azuki bean flour. Read in full here.

• UV-treated wine pursuant

  • The Danish Veterinary and Food Administration (DVFA) has received an article 4 application in relation to wine treated with ultra-violet (UV)-C-light-dosages up to 3kJ/L. The UV treatment is used to microbiologically stabilise the wine at various stages of the production process.

  • Conclusion: Not novel food: Due to the UV-C treatment at various stages of the production process not giving rise to any significant changes in the composition or structure of the wine, its nutritional value, metabolism or level of undesirable substances, it does not fall under the category specified in Article 3(2)(a)(vii) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, nor any other categories in Article 3(2)(a), and therefore it is not considered a novel food. However, national regulations regarding UV-treatment of food may restrict its use in some of the EU Member States. Read in full here.

EU Parliament bans meaty names for plant-based foods

On 8th October, the European Parliament voted to ban the use of specific words such as “steak”, “sausage” and “burger” when describing plant-based products. This decision comes as part of a broader discussion on the European Commission’s 2024 legislative initiative on amendments to Regulations (EU) No 1308/2013, (EU) 2021/2115, and (EU) 2021/2116. This proposed amendment seeks to add “steak”, “escalope”, “sausage”, “burger”, “hamburger”, “egg-yolk” and “egg white” as further terms that to be restricted to meat products. The approval of this amendment would prohibit names such as “vegan burger” or “plant-based sausage” on labelling and marketing materials. It is currently unknown at this time whether or when the amendment will be passed. For more information, click here.

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Advisory Committee on Novel Foods & Processes (ACNFP)

The 174th meeting of the ACNFP is due to be held on 19th November in London. The agenda for this meeting is now available here, with discussions to be held on full novel food applications including Solein RP1326, Fermotein RP1215, Fusarium sp. str. flavolapis RP1637, and β-lactoglobulin RP1571.

New guidance from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) on taste trials

The Food Standards Agency has published new guidance on conducting taste trials for novel foods and foods produced by novel processes. This guidance aims to support food businesses developing innovative products, such as cell-cultivated foods, to carry out safe, ethical and well-designed taste trials as part of their research and development work.As best practice, companies planning taste trials should:- Conduct thorough risk assessments- Obtain independent ethics committee approval- Keep detailed records- Gain full, informed written consent from all participantsThe full guidance is available on the FSA website.

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Temporary pause in FDA pre-market review activities

On 1 October 2025, US FDA initiated a shutdown of non-essential activities due to a lapse in federal appropriations.

Impact on GRAS Food and Feed Ingredient Submissions

• Pre-market reviews of novel food and animal feed ingredients are currently suspended. This includes the review of GRAS notices, food additive petitions, and new ingredient notifications.

• New submissions will not be accepted during the shutdown period. The regulatory clock for any planned submissions will not start until funding is restored.

• Ongoing reviews may experience delays. Even where user fee carryover allows certain workstreams to continue, FDA staffing and communication capacity are reduced.

• Longer-term initiatives such as policy development, prevention strategies, and regulatory science projects are on hold.

Other FDA Functions

Essential public health and safety activities (e.g., recalls, outbreak responses, and import screening) continue with excepted personnel, but routine regulatory activities outside those areas are paused.

Implications for Industry

• Companies with planned submissions should adjust timelines and defer filing until appropriations are reinstated.

• Strategic planning is advised for ongoing dossiers, including realistic expectations for review timelines and communication lags.

• Policy or guidance development relevant to novel foods is unlikely to progress during this period

For more information: https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/lapse-federal-funding-october-1-2025

California announces law banning ultra-processed foods

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law (AB 1264), known as “The Real Food, Healthy Kids Act”, making it the first US state to define ultra-processed foods and ban many of them from school meals and encouraging schools to provide healthier options. Ultra-processed foods will be defined under this new law as any food or beverage that exceeds guidance on limits for fats, nonnutritive sweeteners, emulsifiers, other additives, and coloring. Find out more information here.

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Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) 

The FSANZ has completed an administrative assessment and accepted application A1341 – Cell-cultured duck (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) biomass as a food ingredient. The assessment has now commenced and an opportunity to comment will be notified at a later date. Find out more here.

Canada

During October, two entries were added to the list of non-novel determinations for food and food ingredients, both of these ingredients had a history of safe use as a food. The ingredients added were as follows:

• Green alder (Alnus alnobetulassp. crispa) male catkins

• Makrut lime leaf (Citrus hystrix) (formerly known as kaffir lime leaf)

Chile

In September, Chile concluded a public consultation on a proposed regulation for novel foods and novel ingredients, including those used in food supplements. If approved, this will be Chile’s first official framework for novel foods. The regulation requires that novel foods meet national safety and nutritional standards and defines Novel Foods, Novel ingredients and Food components as the food, ingredient or food component obtained through physicochemical synthesis processes or through natural processes that do not resemble compounds or molecules with a history of safe human consumption. The process for evaluation and approval states that applications are initially to be submitted to the Sub-Secretariat of Public Health or to a public institution or the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health will have 180 days to then notify applicants. The report will then undergo a minimum 60-day public consultation before the final outcome published by the Ministry of Health.

India

The list of applications Approved/Rejected/Closed/Withdrawn/Status under the Food Safety and Standards (Approval for Non-Specified Food and Food Ingredients) Regulations was updated earlier this month. Read the full document here.

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

AI meets food safety: exploring how artificial intelligence can help reshape food safety management.

Panelists from FAO, Wageningen Food Safety Research, the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science, the University of Ghana, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell’Abruzzo e Molise (Italy) and the Ministry of Health of Tunisia shared real-world applications of AI across the food safety continuum. Discussions ranged from machine learning for pathogen detection to horizon scanning for emerging issues and models that help prioritize inspection resources in data-limited environments.

Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) is holding 101st meeting in Geneva

The 101st meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) took place at the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva from 15 to 21 October 2025. This meeting brought together international experts from governments, international organisations, research institutes, and universities to evaluate the safety of certain food contaminants, specifically arsenic including its inorganic and various organic forms.

Future on a plate: FAO launches innovative food foresight menu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched, Future on a plate - Chef’s foresight menu, as part of the opening of FAO’s Food and Agriculture Museum and Network (FAO MuNe). This imaginative menu offers a vision of what our foods might look like in the years ahead, from cricket flour croquettes and salads grown in vertical farms to cell-based tuna and precision-fermented dairy-free cheesecake.

Strengthening global efforts to monitor harmful algal blooms and marine biotoxins

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) and marine biotoxins are naturally occurring phenomena that can severely impact aquatic ecosystems and aquaculture operations. Certain algal species produce potent toxins that can pose serious risks to human health through contaminated seafood, especially the consumption of bivalve molluscs.

To address these challenges, the Joint FAO-IOC-IAEA Expert Meeting will focus on developing a Technical Guidance on Marine Biotoxins and HABs Monitoring.

Global experts united to advance food allergen risk assessment – Video now available

Hear what international experts had to say as they convened a global Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens at FAO Headquarters. During this recording it was discussed how food allergens are affecting millions of people worldwide, the significant challenges for food safety, consumer protection and international trade. Watch the video here.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The Environment Directorate Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee have released the updates from the 32nd WP-SNFF meeting (March 2025) which includes the developments in delegations on the safety assessment of novel foods and feeds. This document by the Working Party for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds (WP-SNFF), under the OECD’s Chemicals and Biotechnology Committee, supports countries in assessing the risks of genetically engineered foods and feeds. The document compiles information from member and partner countries on recent activities related to novel food and feed safety since the previous meeting in 2024. Read more here.

OECD Guidance Document on the Generation, Reporting and Use of Research Data for Regulatory Assessments

This document aims to enhance the consideration and use of research data in regulatory assessments by OECD Member Countries. The aim is to bridge the gap between the increasing amount of non-standard research data and the need for robust scientific evidence to inform regulatory assessments. The guidance targets all stakeholder groups involved in the life cycle of research data, from generation to regulatory use. Research funders, researchers, publishers, reviewers, editors, repository managers, assessors from public and private organisations, and risk managers share responsibilities to improve the regulatory uptake of research data.

United Arab Emirates

 Abu Dhabi launches its first unified regulatory framework for cultivated meat and novel proteins to accelerate food innovation. A collaboration between the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), the Abu Dhabi Quality and Conformity Council (QCC) and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) have joined together to unvail a landmark initiative. The framework intends to simplify and accelerate the approval process for next generation food technologies including precision fermentation, cultivated proteins and other novel foods, whilst ensuring the highest food safety standards. Practices will be aligned with best practices adopted in the UAE, GCC, EU, Singapore and the USA and is expected to cut the registration times by six to nine months

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