Accelerating Novel Food Approval

Food production accounts for around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with livestock farming alone responsible for 14.5%. Intensive agriculture uses 70% of freshwater resources, and deforestation for agriculture causes the loss of 6 million hectares of forest annually. Unhealthy diets contribute to 11 million deaths per year, while antibiotic use in agriculture contributes to the spread of resistant bacteria.

Innovation in the food industry is one of the most effective ways to reduce humanity’s footprint on our planet. By making food production more sustainable, we can also make the food we eat healthier and tastier. Many companies in Estonia and elsewhere are developing innovative and resourceful approaches to produce the food necessary for our survival (and enjoyment). Recent breakthroughs in biotechnology also offer novel methods for food production and new sources of ingredients to replace animal products and food components that have destructive side effects.

Bringing these products to market in the European Union can prove to be time-consuming and costly.

The process of applying for novel food permits is further prolonged by waiting for the position of the regulatory authority, which can take months and, in some cases, even years. Such deadlock troubles novel food entrepreneurs, who must find ways to prove the safety of their products and conduct a number of expensive food analyses—without knowing how long the application process may take. There is no definitive checklist that a company launching a new product can follow to ensure readiness to apply for an novel food permit from EFSA.

As a result, the fate of novel food companies largely depends on private consultants who help them navigate all the necessary trials required to demonstrate the safety of their products. This makes the process extremely costly and time-consuming, as companies must maneuver between EFSA, consultants, and research laboratories without knowing what lies ahead.

ÄIO and Gelatex are working together with Accelerate Estonia to ensure that our food systems can develop in a way that provides support from the Estonian state for innovators worldwide in applying for novel food permits in the European Union. The challenge of food innovation lies in the need to ensure the safety of the food we all consume. This important endeavor instills consumer confidence in the integrity, transparency, and safety of the food products on the market.

European countries have entrusted this task to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which is responsible for approving and regulating the food market in Europe. EFSA has established a very thorough process to verify that new food items and/or their production processes are safe. Often, ordinary consumers like us are not familiar with this process because we take food safety for granted.

The ultimate goal of the project is to reduce companies’ dependence on private consultants and to make the market entry of new solutions much easier, as developing innovative and circular economy solutions using non-traditional sources (such as sawdust) is already quite challenging. In the long term, the aim is to make the food landscape of European consumers healthier and more sustainable, and to establish a completely new sector in Estonia.

As part of the program, ÄIO and Gelatex gathered extensive knowledge on the criteria that novel food companies must meet to comply with EFSA’s requirements and food safety procedures by navigating the approval process with their own products.

Accelerate Estonia and Civitta AS conducted a impact analysis aimed at mapping the challenges and regulations of the innovative food sector and assessing its economic potential. The study focused on the impact of establishing an innovative food knowledge unit on the Estonian food industry and identifying alternative approaches to promoting food innovation.

The main conclusions were that the Estonian food industry has low added value and limited research and development activity, and that environmental issues and regulatory obstacles affect the sector’s development. Innovative food development is a research-intensive field where startups primarily operate in Estonia, while large enterprises dominate in Europe. Obtaining an EFSA risk assessment is complex and time-consuming. The analysis found that the lack of a national strategy hinders the sector’s development, but creating one could support the growth of science-based jobs and innovation.

During the analysis, four development directions were proposed: a consultancy-focused support unit, a knowledge unit with broader functions, an AI-based EFSA assistant, and the restructuring of innovation grants. These would help reduce bureaucracy and accelerate the market entry of novel food products.

As a result of the working group’s activities, a roadmap will be developed to assist companies in finding information and financing, and to help EISA initiate international collaboration. A responsible party will be appointed for the novel food service, who will oversee the ongoing renewal of the process.

The impact analysis emphasized that the novel food sector has significant export potential and opportunities for promoting international cooperation. The Estonian public sector is committed to establishing a strong support structure to help novel food companies navigate the European regulatory framework and bring innovations to market more quickly.

In May 2024, the first public tasting of novel food was held at the Latitude59 conference, showcasing the goals of the national innovation lab to reduce bureaucracy and promote innovation.