The regulation of novel food and nanomaterials from the point of view of the protection of health

Abstract

The movement and introduction of food from other countries, the use of new ingredients and the use of technologies to modify food are aspects that can have an impact on people’s health. In the field of novel food, the Regulation, from 1997, needed an update. The update of the Regulation means, therefore, a greater protection of health, since food categories that were not regulated before have been introduced, like food consisting of engineered nanomaterials. However, we must consider some problematic issues related to this Regulation. This article analyses the changes in the new Regulation on novel food from the point of view of the protection of health, taking into account the general principles of food law and focusing on engineered nanomaterials as novel food, as well as on the difficulties regarding its definition.