A barrier to growth and innovation? Novel foods legislation.

A barrier to growth and innovation?

Is novel foods legislation holding back growth and innovation in the UK’s food to go market asks Richard Horwell, owner of Brand Relations.

STEALING A MARCH?

The food to go market is by nature dynamic and innovative. In the UK, we want to be able to work with the current consumer trends including an interest in health. However, when it comes to using novel foods, it’s my view that we are being held back.

While this is happening here, other countries have quickly moved into pole position. For example, the USA and Canada are finding themselves at the vanguard of a revolution which has resulted in a booming appetite for food products containing novel foods with health benefits.

These can include anything from CBD oil, hemp, lion’s mane, turkey tails and monk fruit. And the reason we in the UK are sadly trailing behind in this field is due solely to, in my opinion, the outmoded approach of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which currently regulates the use of novel foods in this country.

This, in turn, is holding back our ability to join the world’s market leaders in the food and beverage industry across the board. So let’s look at what this means for the industry and for sandwiches and other food to go products.

WHAT IS THE FSA?

The Food Standards Agency is responsible for food safety and hygiene in the UK and works with local authorities to enforce food safety and it ensures that standards are being met. And while there is no dispute that there needs to be safety measures in this industry, the agency is arguably stuck in the past in connection with this particular issue.

Hence, we are in the ridiculous position of being able to buy food supplements from sellers on the internet and consume them to our hearts content, but when it comes to putting the same ingredients in foods, they don’t meet the FSA regulations.

WHAT ARE NOVEL FOODS?

This is food that hasn’t had a significant history of human consumption, or has been produced by a previously unknown method in the EU before May 15, 1997 when the first regulations for novel foods came into force.

We inherited the regulations from the EU with its limitations on what you can and can’t use in food and drink. It was meant to protect consumers from using ingredients in food and drink that could potentially cause harm if its safety is not proven.

Recent trends for hemp, CBD and cannabinoids, krill oil, chia seeds, nonifruit juice, baobab and various forms of dried mushroom such as lion’s mane and turkey tails have resulted in an insatiable demand for these perceived healthy plant-based foods. But they are all currently awaiting the green light from the FSA which presently says these all have to be tested as safe and properly labelled, and cannot be legally sold until authorised.

This might make sense if millions of people in the UK weren’t already consuming these products freely in the form of supplements.

WHY DO WE WANT NOVEL FOODS ADDED TO OUR FOOD?

Convenience is the obvious answer, but since Covid 19 there has been a surge in the demand for healthy food and plant-based products.

Post-pandemic consumers are prioritising wellness and looking more towards natural products, and businesses in the food to go sector quite rightly want to be able to satisfy this demand.

Chia seeds

Consumers are now actively wanting, and seeking out, products with added health benefits. It’s simple supply and demand, but food and drink innovators are at risk of being stifled by our outdated regulations.

Getting authorisation to use a novel food requires gathering and submitting extensive evidence to the FSA which is an expensive and lengthy process. For example, in March 2021 only 210 applications from several thousand products were considered viable for further consideration.

Of course, we should be cautious about what does go into our food products. However, to take one example, Canada has approved more than 90 novel foods including canola, corn, cotton seed and flax. Our laws say everything new has to be tested, but if it is already tested (elsewhere or in different products, such as supplements) and it’s not making anyone sick, what’s the problem?

ARE THERE ANY NOVEL FOODS CURRENTLY ON THE MARKET?

Chia seeds, when first introduced, were only allowed to be sold as single ingredients but due to the increase in dietary intake in recent years and an extensive literature search by the European Food Standards Agency the product is now widely added to chocolate, fruit spreads, yoghurts and non-alcoholic beverages.

Cholesterol reducing spreads have also been approved with the addition of phytosterols and phytostanals and are gathering huge commercial success.

The appetite for CBD in food and drink is currently booming although consumers might be surprised to learn this hasn’t yet been approved by the FSA. Major retailers Boots and Holland & Barrrett reported an increase of 65 % in revenue in November 2021 from CBD products and they are set to pull in £690 million in 2021 – an increase of £314 million since 2019.

Many CBD companies have joined forces to push CBD on to the market which has given it the clout it has needed. But nothing’s certain for them yet and this hugely successful product which has already gone through rigorous testing in other parts of the world could still have the rug pulled from underneath it.

WHAT DOES IT COST TO LAUNCH A NOVEL FOOD?

It’s astronomical and out of the reach of most small businesses. Think at least five or six figures for testing and research.

If you are lucky, you will only have certain limitations about how much of your chosen ingredient you can use, but you will still probably have to wait years to be able to sell your product.

The companies with money have a disproportionate advantage which isn’t fair on our industry’s smaller entrepreneurs. We are now in a position where some products are on the market without approval because there has been financial weight behind them. Some producers are getting away with it, for now, whereas others can’t even enter the market. I would like to see a much more level playing field.

I feel that we now need more common sense to be employed when it comes to novel foods legislation and regulation. That way, innovators in the food to go sector can provide new and exciting products that their customers will love.

Richard Horwell is the owner of Brand Relations (www.brandrelations.co.uk), a specialist food and drink marketing and branding company based in London. Over the last 13 years, the firm has been behind the launch and development of over 100 brands in the UK, Richard having also built up and sold companies of his own in the food and beverage sector. He has over 30 years’ experience in marketing FMCG brands around the world, having lived and worked in the UK, USA, Australia and the Middle East.