Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Process. Minutes of the 155th Meeting held on the 16th of November 2022
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Skip the menu of subheadings on this page.These minutes are subject to confirmation by the Committee.
Members are required to declare any personal interest in matters under discussion. Where Members have a particularly close association with any item, the Chairman will limit their involvement in the discussion. In cases where an item is to be discussed in their absence, a member may make a statement before leaving.
Minutes of the 155th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, held on 16th of November 2022 at Broadway House, London and as a hybrid meeting.
Attendance
Committee Chair
Dr Camilla Alexander-White
Committee Members
Dr Anton Alldrick
Ms Alison Austin
Dr Mark Berry
Professor Dimitris Charalampopoulos
Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait
Professor Paul Fraser
Dr Hamid Ghoddusi
Dr Andy Greenfield
Professor Wendy Harwood
Professor Huw Jones
Dr Ray Kemp
Dr Elizabeth Lund
Professor Harry McArdle
Mrs Rebecca McKenzie
Dr Lesley Stanley
Prof Hans Verhagen
Professor Bruce Whitelaw
Apologies
Dr Maureen Wakefield - Member
Professor Clare Mills - Member
Assessor
Mr Paul Tossell - Head of Radiological, GM, Novel Foods & Radiological Protection
Observers FSA
Mr James Cooper - Deputy Director Food Policy
Mr Chris Stockdale - Head of GM Policy
Mr Hoa Chang - FSA GM Policy Advisor
Mr Shaun Jacobs - FSA Senior Policy Advisor
Ms Alison Asquith - FSA Senior Policy Advisor
Ms Monique Van Tonder - FSA Policy Advisor
Mr Donal Griffin - Head of Regulated Products Risk Assessment (Feed and GM)
Ms Chun-Han Chan - Science Assurance & Coordination
Ms Helen Kardos-Stowe - Regulated Products Policy Adviser
Ms Lisa Nelson - Communications Manager
Ms Sophie Hardy - Regulated Products Engagement & Partnerships Coordinator
Ms Sharon Thompson - Novel Foods & Feed Additives Policy Advisor
Observers Devolved administration
Mr Andrew Dodd - Policy, FSA Wales
Ms Hannah Reid - Policy, FSA Wales
Ms Siobhan Watt - Food Standards Scotland
Ms Krystle Boss - Food Standards Scotland
Ms Lucy Smythe - Food Standards Scotland
Ms Colleen Mulrine - Policy, FSA NI
Observers (External)
Ms Claire Nicholson - Science Council
Mr Martin Cannell - Defra Representative and ACRE Secretariat
Mr Pete Lund - ACRE Representative
Secretariat
Mrs Ruth Willis - Technical Secretary
Mrs Priscilla Wanjiru - Science Secretariat
Dr Karin Heurlier - Science Secretariat
Dr Rachael Oakenfull - Science Secretariat
Dr Tahmina Khan - Science Secretariat
Mr Will Smith - Science Secretariat
Mrs Afielia Choudhry - Science Secretariat
Dr Andrew Hartley - Science Secretariat
Mr Matt Hall - Science Secretariat
Dr Annalisa Leone - Science Secretariat
Mr Rhys Williams - Science Secretariat
Ms Katie Schultz - Science Secretariat
Mr Ben Haynes - Science Secretariat
Mr Nathan Allen - Science Secretariat
Miss Jenny Rees - Science Secretariat
Ms Shila Sultana - Science Secretariat
Miss Victoria Balch - Administrative Secretariat
Ms Aisling Jao - Administrative Secretariat
1. Apologies and Announcements
Professor Clare Mills, and Professor Maureen Wakefield, sent their apologies for non-attendance.
The Chair welcomed the Members, representatives from the FSA, the observers from the devolved administrations and the Secretariat team.
Dr Anton Alldrick and Professor Harry McArdle declared potential conflict of interest in relation to CBD. To facilitate this the agenda had been arranged to separate agenda item 6 from the other items for discussion.
2. Meeting Minutes for the 154th Meeting
ACNFP/154/MINS
The Committee agreed that the draft minutes are a true record of the 154th meeting held on Wednesday 7th September 2022 subject to minor amendments. The committee was informed that the draft minutes will be published on the ACNFP website.
3. Matters Arising from the last meeting
ACNFP/155/MA
The Secretariat reported on the actions from the previous meeting:
- The Committee previously reviewed the draft opinions for Cetylated Fatty Acids and Barley Rice Protein. Members provided input for the Secretariat to action and the Secretariat revised the drafts for final consideration by the Committee under items 8 and 9.
- The Committee previously gave a preliminary assessment for a new application, Magnesium-L-threonate for use as a food supplement. The Secretariat requested further information from the applicant to address data gaps. The applicant’s response was presented under item 5.
- Members were provided with an update of the work of two new Subgroups following their first meetings, i) the joint COT and ACNFP subcommittee on cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp derived products and ii) the Subcommittee of the ACNFP on products of genetic technology (PGT). Further information on the work of the PGT was discussed in the workshop on the agenda for this meeting.
- The Committee held a workshop in September 2022 on Precision Bred Organisms and a statement on the outcomes of the workshop had been developed and input would be sought separately from Members in order to finalise a statement for publication.
4. Magnesium-L-threonate - RP956
ACNFP/155/01
The Committee gave a preliminary review of this application in the September 154th meeting which resulted in a request for further information. The Secretariat asked the Committee to consider the applicant’s response and continue their review.
The Committee assessed in particular, data regarding the identity of the novel food and the production process. The Committee requested the Secretariat seek further information from the applicant to address undefined components and concerns regarding potential nano-specific properties of the powdered product.
The Committee evaluated the applicant’s response regarding production process and agreed the Secretariat seek again further information to address data insufficiency around several aspects of the production process and how it will be managed effectively. Queries were also raised around the proposed use and how it would be ensured that consumers could use the product safely in the context of foreseeable misuse.
Action: The Secretariat to request further information from the applicant.
5. CBD subgroup update
Oral
It was noted that Professor McArdle and Dr Alldrick had standing conflicts of interest in relation to CBD and were not present for the update. The Committee were updated on the recent subgroup work and previous meeting pertaining to review of the toxicological data received from the novel food applications as a basis to explore a safe upper intake for >98% pure form CBD. The Committee were informed that the subgroup had developed preliminary advice including a reserved Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) which could form the basis of an update to current FSA advice for consumers. The subgroup is reviewing further data to finalise the position. The work includes identification of the scientific uncertainties in the assessment of the data received to date for 98% CBD ingredients. The intention is for the outcome of this work to inform the assessment of the individual applications for CBD ingredients under the novel food regulation It also provides the basis for further advice for consumers on the safe consumption of CBD ingredients.
6. Workshop on Precision Bred Organisms - Reserved Business
ACNFP/155/02
The Committee held a second workshop in this meeting to review the latest discussions of the PGT Subcommittee on the development of a framework for Precision Bred Organisms. Members were updated on the continued development of the statement on the outcomes of the September workshop for publication.
Members also discussed further development of the scientific factors that needed to be taken into account in developing a framework for Precision Bred Organisms. The discussion had a particular focus on the development of a tiered approach to risk assessment and the conditions where a more in-depth Tier 2 review could be justified and how this could be done proportionately to ensure consumer safety. Based on the discussion, work was planned for the PGT Subcommittee to further develop a proposal on this issue, for further consideration by the ACNFP at the next meeting.
7. Barley Rice Protein – RP19
ACNFP/155/03
The Committee discussed the final draft opinion following the application’s fifth review in the September 154th meeting. The Secretariat had shared a final draft for input prior to the meeting and shared the further information supplied by the applicant on composition and nutrition.
The Committee discussed the remaining comments on the final draft opinion and agreed that no further review or applicant information would be required. The final draft opinion was accepted as an accurate conclusion of the risk assessment for the application.
Action: Assessment output to be published and the dossier to be moved to risk management phase to conclude the regulated products process
8.Cetylated Fatty Acids RP200
ACNFP/155/04
The Committee discussed the final draft opinion following review in the September 154th meeting.
The Committee agreed that no further review would be required, and that the final output is an accurate conclusion of the risk assessment for the application.
Action: Assessment output to be published and the dossier to be moved to risk management phase to conclude the regulated products process.
9. Annual Report
ACNFP/155/05
The Committee reviewed the revised 2021 ACNFP Annual Report that had been updated following the Committee’s consideration in June. Additional text had been added to address Member requests to provide information on the scope of the ACNFP’S work and guiding principles. The Secretariat invited members to provide final input on the revised report. The Committee agreed that the report was accurate, pending minor adjustments regarding the work surrounding CBD applications and PGT, and agreed on publication following clearance by Chair’s action.
Action: The Secretariat to publish the 2021 ACNFP Annual Report following clearance by Chair’ action.
10. Approach to assessment of solvent use for CBD applications (reserved business)
ACNFP/155/06
It was noted that Professor McArdle and Dr Alldrick had standing conflicts of interest in relation to CBD. However, as this item was a wider discussion on the handling of extraction solvents used in the production of novel foods, the conflicts were not considered relevant to the discussion, and they were invited to participate.
The Secretariat asked the Committee to provide advice on the approach to the assessment of non-authorised extraction solvent use in novel food production processes of products seeking authorisation as novel foods. Members discussed whether additional evidence is needed from applicants to demonstrate safety of solvents used in the production of a novel ingredient beyond that supplied to support the safety of the novel food.
The members suggested making use of assessments made under other UK legal frameworks on chemicals as an evidence base, when this situation arises. The Secretariat were asked to explore what information may be available to support the assessment in the scenarios envisaged. Further discussion with the Committee on the approach to assessment of extraction solvent use in the production of novel foods was supported by Members, should evidence pertaining to risk, not sufficiently be addressed in other datasets.
Action: The Secretariat to review availability of information on the safety of extraction solvent use in the scenarios identified.
11. Items for Information
11.1 Novel Food Policy Update - Written
The Committee was provided with a written update on the issues under consideration regarding novel foods.
11.2 GM Policy Update - Written
The Committee was provided with an oral update on the issues under consideration regarding GM.
11.3 SACS Update - Written
The Committee was provided with a written update on the activities of the different SACs.
Date of next meeting
The next virtual meeting is scheduled for the 16thJanuary 2023 as a PGT workshop. The next ACNFP hybrid meeting in London is scheduled for 7th and 8th February 2023.