Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Process. Minutes of the 158th Meeting held on the 28th of March 2023

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 158th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, held on the 28th of March 2023 as a Microsoft Teams virtual meeting. 

Attendance

Committee Chair

 Dr Camilla Alexander-White

Committee Members

Dr Mark Berry                         

Professor Clare Mills

Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait

Professor Paul Fraser         

Dr Andy Greenfield 

Professor Wendy Harwood

Professor Huw Jones          

Dr Ray Kemp                           

Dr Elizabeth Lund                 

Mrs Rebecca McKenzie     

Dr Lesley Stanley                  

Prof Hans Verhagen

Professor Bruce Whitelaw      

Apologies

Prof Dimitris Charalampopoulos - Member

Dr Maureen Wakefield - Member

Dr Hamid Ghoddusi - Member                             

Dr Anton Alldrick - Member                                  

Ms Alison Austin - Member

Professor Harry McArdle - Member

Assessor

Mr Paul Tossell - Head of Radiological, GM, Novel Foods & Radiological Protection

Observers FSA

Ms Sharon Thompson - Novel Foods & Feed Additives Policy Advisor

Ms Sophie Burder - Novel Foods Policy Officer

Dr Chun-Han Chan - Regulated Products Engagement lead

Observers Devolved administration

Mr Joshua Evans - Food Standards Scotland

Ms Georgina Finch - Food Standards Scotland

Mr Lloyd Evans - Policy, FSA Wales

Mr Xose Benitu Alvarez - Policy, FSA Wales

Ms Lucy Smythe - Food Standards Scotland

Mr Daniel Lynch - Policy, FSA NI

Observers (External)

Professor Simon Pearson - Science Council Member

Secretariat

Mrs Ruth Willis - Technical Secretary

Dr Karin Heurlier - Science Secretariat

Mr Will Smith - Science Secretariat                     

Mrs Afielia Choudhry - Science Secretariat

Mr Ben Haynes - Science Secretariat

Mr Matt Hall - Science Secretariat 

Miss Jenny Rees - Science Secretariat

Dr Andrew Hartley - Science Secretariat

Mr Matt Hall - Science Secretariat 

Mrs Carol Scott - Administrative Secretariat 

Mrs Michelle Hutchinson - Administrative Secretariat 

1. Apologies and Announcements

Prof Dimitris Charalampopoulos, Professor Maureen Wakefield, Ms. Alison Austin, Dr Hamid Ghoddusi sent their apologies for non-attendance. 

Dr Anton Alldrick and Professor Harry McArdle declared potential conflict of interest in relation to CBD. To manage the potential conflict, they did not attend this meeting of the Committee. 

2. Welcome and Introductions

The Chair welcomed the Members, representatives from the FSA, the observers from the devolved administrations and the Secretariat team.  

3. Pure form CBD ≥98% purity position paper (Reserved Business

ACNFP/158/01

The Secretariat introduced that the purpose of the additional ACNFP meeting was to review a position paper from the joint Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP)/Committee on Toxicity (COT) subgroup on CBD and hemp derived products. In line with FSA Committee Governance structures, outputs from Subgroup considerations need to be reviewed and adopted by the parent Committee(s) before these can be subject to publication. A parallel discussion was held with the COT earlier on the same day for this purpose.

The ACNFP were asked to provide comments on the draft output, which described the derivation of a provisional Acceptable Daily Intake (ADI) for highly purified CBD as a novel food ingredient.  Members commented there was a need to have a short statement within the position paper which explains the difference between the previous FSA advice referring to a 70 mg/day maximum intake and this new provisional ADI of 10 mg/day, as this will help people understand the differential evidence for these values, the new evidence and what this means  in terms of consumer safety.

Some members raised concerns about the lack of detail in the data presented within the paper to demonstrate the basis for the conclusions. It was noted that the conclusions were largely based on new proprietary data. In developing the provisional ADI, only a few studies were identified as being of a suitable quality to support reaching a conclusion. The Secretariat explained that there is a limit on the detail that can be included in the position paper so as to not breach confidentiality or data protection requirements under the novel food regulations. In any case the Committee will have an opportunity to consider this data as part of the authorisation of the individual novel food applications. To support the Committee in understanding the basis for the position paper the Secretariat agreed to share the data summaries with the Committee. Members reiterated their view that applicants should be encouraged to work collaboratively to minimise the use of experimental animals.  

Detailed comments were provided on the terminology used to ensure it would be understood by an informed lay reader. Most comments focused on the advice for certain vulnerable groups not to consume the products so that those that could be affected could clearly identify how the advice affected them. It was suggested to clarify for producers where the provisional ADI could be applied directly and where there was a need for further analysis.

There was a discussion on how the provisional ADI would be used by the Committee in assessing the individual novel foods applications. Members flagged the importance of understanding the difference in absorption of CBD in different matrices as an issue. They also flagged the need to consider consumption of CBD from a range of sources to provide a basis for advice to risk managers.

It was concluded that the members be given a further opportunity to provide comments on the position paper by correspondence. It was agreed the final version to be cleared by Chairs action.

Action: Secretariat to collate comments position paper and prepare final version for clearance by Chair’s action.

Secretariat to manage the publication of the position paper once finalised.

4. AOB

No other business was declared by the Chair or by any other members.

5. Date of next meeting

Date of next meeting - Wednesday 26th April 2023.