La revisione della disciplina dei novel foods tra tutela di interessi generali e obiettivi economici

The article deals with the reform of the EU legislation on novel foods, originally adopted in 1997 through Regulation 258/97. After identifying the main weaknesses of that Regulation, it focuses on the new Regulation 2015/2283, which shall apply from 1 January 2018. Three main aspects of the new Regulation are examined: (i) the definition of novel food; (ii) the centralized authorization procedure and the related data protection regime; (iii) the specific rules for traditional foods from third countries. The conclusion is that the new Regulation strikes a better balance than the original one between the protection of human health and consumers’ interests, on the one hand, and the interests of food business operators, on the other, and thus should stimulate research and development within the food industry. On the contrary, the rules for traditional foods from third countries do not seem perfectly fit for the stated purpose of facilitating the placing of such foods on the Union market.