Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 230/4 & EIC 230/2/12

22 December 2015

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 1224/2015

European Union (EU) * : Amendments to Regulation on Novel Foods

Further to Commercial Information Circular No. 123/2014 of 10 February 2014, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU has adopted a Regulation on rules for the placing of novel foods on the market within the EU.  The Regulation amends Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 and repeals Regulations (EC) Nos. 258/97 and 1852/2001.  Details are set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, which can be accessed through the following link:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32015R2283&from=EN

DETAILS

2.EU's rules on novel foods were established by Regulations (EC) Nos. 258/97 and 1852/2001.  To simplify the current authorisation procedures and to take account of recent developments in Union law and technological progress, these two Regulations should be repealed and replaced by Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. 

3.To ensure a high level of protection of human health and consumer’s interests, food consisting of engineered nanomaterials should be considered a novel food under the new Regulation.  For consistency and coherence purposes, the definition of engineered nanomaterial should be deleted from Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 and replaced by a reference to the definition set out in Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.   

4.This Regulation shall enter into force on 31 December 2015 and apply from 1 January 2018, unless otherwise specified.  

ENQUIRIES

5.For enquiries concerning the content of this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5556.

Yours faithfully,

(Miss Anna CHEUNG)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry

* The EU member countries are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.