This year’s Regulating the Future of Food Conference brought together new and familiar faces from varying professional backgrounds and expertise to explore current challenges and opportunities in the food regulatory space.
A lot has happened since the first edition of the Regulating the Future of Food Conference, held in Barcelona last year.
We’ve seen many innovations within the food tech space, ongoing consumer and media interest in alternative proteins and novel foods, and developments surrounding food regulations, including the first cultivated meat novel food dossier submitted to the EU and recent updates to the European Food Safety Authority’s (EFSA) novel food guidance.
During 34 presentations and workshops, conference participants discussed these developments and how to enable more optimal routes to market for different types of alternative proteins and food tech products without compromising safety. Next to regulatory and scientific experts, the conference lineup included presentations and Q&A sessions with several regulatory authorities. These included EFSA, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Singapore’s Food Agency.
Partnerships, Mutual Understanding and Preparation are Key
By bringing together multiple stakeholders, the conference sought to offer participants a platform to engage with regulators and area experts on the topics that matter most to them.
“It’s quite challenging to make an application, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups. So it’s important [for EFSA] to be here and exchange [information] with them. When you make an application, [considering] the challenging regulatory environment, legislation and guidelines you need to follow, you really should consider whether to partner with somebody who is already experienced, such as another company or a consultant.” – EFSA Senior Scientific Officer Wolfgang Gellmann noted during the conference.
Collaboration is key when navigating the complex regulatory landscape of alternative proteins and novel foods – fostering more efficient engagement with regulators, knowledge sharing and resource pooling.
Regulatory uncertainties are a challenge for many companies seeking approval for their product or ingredient. Proper preparation is key here. Pre-submission meetings with regulatory bodies often prove beneficial for applicants and risk assessors. Regional variation in regulatory routes make local knowledge and proper preparation even more critical for successful regulatory applications.
“As much as I wish I could be everywhere all of the time, it’s really critical to have strong partners across the globe to help support your application and to be able to communicate and translate the information you want into the package the regulators review.” – Kathleen Slingerland, Regulatory Affairs Manager at Nature’s Fynd, speaking about the company’s regulatory journey.
Photo Kora Kukk
Collaboration in Action
At the conference, participants also had the opportunity to engage in interactive deep-dive workshops on assessing novel foods’ protein quality, using EFSA-compliant literature to support safety, using omics in the context of food safety and assessing culture media ingredients. These workshops provided a platform for participants to identify common challenges and brainstorm potential solutions.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our conference participants, speakers and workshop organisers, whose excellent input, questions and insightful contributions were instrumental in making this conference a success.
Our thanks also go to Vireo Advisors, our co-hosts during this year’s conference, for their invaluable support in organising and facilitating the event. We also extend our gratitude to Future Proof Group Media for their role in organising the co-located Future of Protein Production event.
We will be sharing more conference insights to inform future decision-making towards gaining regulatory approval for novel foods and alternative proteins. To stay up to date on regulatory developments, join our newsletter mailing list here.
Interested in last year’s conference proceedings and debates? Read our summary here: https://lnkd.in/gP_7namy
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