Q.01

How do I use the EU novel food catalogue?

The EU Novel Food Status Catalogue is the European Commission's searchable list, hosted in its Food and Feed Information Portal. You look up a food or ingredient there to get a first indication of whether it needs authorisation under Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The catalogue is non-binding and non-exhaustive. It does not replace your own legal duty to check a food's status, and it does not settle that status. (Commission catalogue page)

Approach: I read Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 (consolidated text) in our datasets and the Commission's catalogue page on food.ec.europa.eu. The catalogue entries themselves are not in our datasets, so I haven't looked up any particular food.

How to search it (from the Commission page):

  • Browse: the full list of foods appears by default.
  • Search by name: type the food name or its first letters. For plants, use the Latin scientific name.
  • Filter by letter: click a letter of the alphabet.
  • Open an entry: click a food name to see its status and related information.
  • Status meanings: click "What does it mean?" in the catalogue to see what each status category means. The Commission page doesn't list the categories itself.
  • Recent changes: the latest 100 updated entries are listed separately. The current version replaced the old catalogue on 16 November 2023.

Points to keep in mind when reading an entry (from the Commission page):

  • Proof of use: when you place the product on the market, you must be able to prove it was eaten as a food before 15 May 1997.
  • Food supplements only: some entries cover use in food supplements only. Using the same food in other foods requires authorisation.
  • Other rules may apply: a substance may instead fall under other EU law, such as rules on additives, flavourings, enzymes or medicines. Individual EU countries may also restrict marketing through their own legislation.
  • Updates: the catalogue is updated from information sent by EU countries. Businesses contribute by giving their national authority details of a food's history of use.

Where it fits legally:

  • What counts as novel: a food is "novel" if it "was not used for human consumption to a significant degree within the Union before 15 May 1997" and falls into at least one of the categories in Article 3(2)(a)(i)-(x). Examples include new molecular structures, foods from microorganisms, fungi or algae, cell or tissue cultures, and engineered nanomaterials. [1] The Commission also links a guidance document on "human consumption to a significant degree".
  • Your duty to check: under Article 4(1), food business operators "shall verify" whether a food they intend to place on the EU market falls within the Regulation. [2]
  • If you're unsure: under Article 4(2), they "shall consult" the Member State where they first intend to place the food, and provide the information it needs to decide. That Member State "may consult" the other Member States and the Commission (Article 4(3)). [2] This consultation, not the catalogue, is the formal way to settle a food's status.
  • If it is novel: under Article 6(2), it may only be placed on the market if it is authorised and included in the Union list, under the conditions of use and labelling requirements set out there. [3] Authorisation goes through an application to the Commission under Article 10. [4] You can check authorised foods and their conditions in the Union list of novel foods.

Practical sequence:

  1. Search the catalogue.
  2. If the food is listed as novel, check the Union list for an authorisation and its conditions.
  3. If the food isn't listed, or its status is unclear, gather your pre-1997 consumption evidence and consult the competent authority of the first Member State where you plan to sell it.

If you give me the food or ingredient, I can check the Regulation, EFSA opinions and the national registers we hold for it.

Q.02

Does a catalogue entry mean my ingredient is authorised?

No. A Novel Food Catalogue entry does not authorise anything. It only gives an indication of a food's status. An authorisation exists only if the food is included in the Union list of novel foods, and the food may then be used only under the conditions set in that list entry. As covered in my previous answer, the Commission describes the catalogue as non-binding and non-exhaustive (Commission catalogue page).

Approach: I read the current consolidated text of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 in our datasets. The catalogue entries and the Union list entries themselves are not in our datasets.

What the Regulation says authorises a novel food:

  • Article 6(1): the Commission "shall establish and update a Union list of novel foods authorised to be placed on the market". Article 6(2): "Only novel foods authorised and included in the Union list may be placed on the market", and only "in accordance with the conditions of use and the labelling requirements specified therein." [3]
  • Article 7: the Commission "shall only authorise and include" a novel food in the Union list if three conditions are met. The food must not pose a safety risk on the available scientific evidence, its intended use must not mislead consumers, and where it replaces another food it must not be nutritionally disadvantageous. [5]
  • Article 9: authorisation happens only through the application route (Articles 10-12) or the traditional-food-from-a-third-country route (Articles 14-19). Each Union list entry includes the food's specification and, where appropriate, conditions of use, extra labelling and post-market monitoring requirements. [6] For traditional foods, the Commission authorises and updates the Union list only if no reasoned safety objections are raised (Article 15(4)-(5)). [7]

How to read a catalogue entry:

  • Entry shows the food as novel: it still needs authorisation. Check that it is on the Union list, and that your specification, food categories, use levels and labelling match that entry. Uses outside the entry are not covered.
  • Entry shows the food as not novel: that is not an authorisation either. The duty to verify status stays with you under Article 4(1) ("shall verify"). Where you are unsure, Article 4(2) says you "shall consult" the Member State where you first intend to place the food on the market. [2] Other EU rules may still apply, such as those on additives, flavourings, food supplements or medicines.
  • Entry limited to food supplements: this matches Article 3(2)(a)(x). A food used only in food supplements before 15 May 1997 is novel if you intend to use it in other foods. [1]

If you tell me the ingredient, I can look for an EFSA opinion or a national status decision on it in our datasets.

Q.03

What should I check for the UK market?

For Great Britain, the EU Union list is not the reference. The main thing to check is the FSA/FSS Register of novel foods, the official list of novel foods authorised for GB. EU authorisations made from 1 January 2021 do not apply in GB, although EU decisions made before that date remain valid there. Northern Ireland is different: businesses there must follow EU rules and the European Commission's authorisation process. So your EU checks still apply for NI, but not for GB. (FSA novel foods authorisation guidance)

Approach: Our datasets hold the Food Safety Act 1990 and the FSA's list of CBD products linked to novel food applications. The FSA/FSS novel foods register and the GB-assimilated Regulation 2015/2283 are not in our datasets, so I took those points from the FSA's official pages.

What to check for GB:

  1. Is the food novel in GB? The FSA defines novel foods as those "not used for human consumption to a significant degree within the United Kingdom (UK) or the European Union (EU) before 15 May 1997". The governing law is the "Assimilated Regulation (EU) 2015/2283". (FSA guidance)

    • The FSA lists the EU Novel Food Status Catalogue as an indicative, non-exhaustive source for GB as well. A catalogue entry is no more decisive in GB than in the EU.
    • The burden is on you to verify status before marketing. For a formal decision, use the Article 4 consultation, which the FSA describes as its formal determination of whether a food is novel.

  2. Is it on the GB register, and does your product match the entry?

    • The register "sets out the list of Novel Foods that are authorised and permitted for use in GB" and gives the details for each. (FSA register guidance)
    • Novel foods authorised before EU exit were "retained in UK law and are included in the register".
    • The register serves as "the domestic list referred to in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470". It replaces the EU Union list for GB.
    • From 1 April 2025, authorisations are made under The Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/361) rather than by statutory instrument. The register is therefore where new GB authorisations appear.
    • Check for divergence: a food authorised in the EU since 2021 may not be authorised in GB, and the conditions of use or specification may differ from the EU entry.

  3. If it is novel and not on the register, you need a GB application. Applications go through the FSA's regulated products application portal, with a full application (Article 10) or a traditional food notification (Article 14). The FSA states there is no application fee. (FSA guidance)

  4. CBD foods (England and Wales): the FSA keeps a separate list of CBD products linked to novel food applications. Each product's entry is marked Validated, Removed or Awaiting evidence. The most recent update I found is dated 13 April 2026. [8] Being on this list ties a product to a pending application; it is not an authorisation on the register.

Enforcement and national law:

  • Enforcement regulations: novel food rules are enforced under separate regulations for each GB nation: the Novel Foods (England) Regulations 2018 (S.I. 2018/154), the Novel Foods (Scotland) Regulations 2017 (S.S.I. 2017/415) and the Novel Foods (Wales) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1103). Each applies provisions of the Food Safety Act 1990 with modifications. [9][10]
  • Section 18 of the 1990 Act: it separately empowers the Secretary of State to make regulations "for prohibiting the carrying out of commercial operations with respect to novel foods". For that section only, "novel food" means food "not previously been used for human consumption in Great Britain, or has been so used only to a very limited extent". [11] For status, use the definition in the assimilated Regulation, as applied in the FSA guidance in point 1.

Practical sequence for a UK launch:

  1. Check the GB register: is the food listed, and do your specification, uses and labelling match the entry?
  2. For NI, check the EU Union list as well.
  3. If GB status is unclear, gather your pre-15 May 1997 UK/EU consumption evidence and request an Article 4 consultation with the FSA. Questions go to regulatedproducts@food.gov.uk (FSA guidance).
  4. If the food is novel and not authorised in GB, apply via the FSA portal before placing it on the market.

I couldn't open the FSA's page on the 2025 reforms to the market authorisation process, or the GB text of Articles 3 and 4 on legislation.gov.uk. The reforms page is here. If you name the ingredient, I can check it against the CBD list and the other GB and EU sources we hold.

Q.04