On October 28, 2015, the Members of the European Parliament approved a revised text regarding "novel foods" regulations, with a 359 to 202 vote and 127 abstentions. "Novel foods" are officially defined as food that has not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU prior to 1997, which is the year when the first regulation on novel foods came into force. Novel foods are either newly developed, innovative foods or foods that have been produced using new technologies and production processes. This includes not only products such as insects and nanomaterials but also fungi, algae, and new colorants. It can also include food that is regularly consumed in other parts of the world but that has never been traditionally eaten in the EU. The proposal still has to be approved by the Council of Ministers before it can enter into force. For more information, see our previous Jones Day Update.
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