Welcome to the N&G 2023 Meeting Calendar

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Displaying One Session

Session Type
Plenary Session
Date
04/01/2023
Session Time
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Room
Platinum Suite Room 1+2

What are they and How to Assess their Safety?

Session Type
Plenary Session
Date
04/01/2023
Session Time
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Room
Platinum Suite Room 1+2
Lecture Time
08:30 AM - 08:55 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

In the EU, Novel Foods are foods or ingredients that have not been used for human consumption to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 (Regulation 2015/2283). The safety evaluation of all Novel Foods in the EU is performed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

EFSA evaluates the safety of NF based on dossiers provided by the applicants and according to the “Guidance on the preparation and presentation of an application for authorisation of a novel food in the context of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283” (EFSA Journal 2016;14(11):4594). According to the Regulation, Novel Foods should fall under at least one of the following categories: new production process; new or modified molecular structure; from micro-organisms, fungi algae; vitamins and minerals from new process/nanomaterials; of mineral origin; from animal and their parts; cell or tissue cultures derived from animals/plants/fungi/algae; engineered nanomaterials; exclusively in food supplements. The safety assessment is based on data provided by the applicants as well as additional data requested by EFSA during the assessment in cases of missing or incomplete information. The following topics are addressed: Identity of the novel food; Production process; Compositional data; Specifications; History of use of the novel food and of its source; Proposed uses and use levels and anticipated intake; Absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME); Nutritional information; Toxicological information; Allergenicity. Both the ADME and the toxicological assessments follow tiered approaches. EFSA’s novel food assessments address whether the novel food is safe under the proposed conditions of use and whether the normal consumption of the novel food would be nutritionally disadvantageous. Importantly, benefit(s) are not part of the assessment. All assessments of novel foods are published in the EFSA Journal after adoption. Authorisations of novel foods and placing them on the Union list are under the remit of the EU commission and the member states.

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Do we Need Novel Foods in Pediatric Nutrition?

Session Type
Plenary Session
Date
04/01/2023
Session Time
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Room
Platinum Suite Room 1+2
Lecture Time
08:55 AM - 09:20 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

Paediatric nutrition is the maintenance of a proper, well-balanced diet, consisting of essential nutrients and adequate caloric intake, appropriate for the stage of development of the child. Changes during the immediate postnatal period are the most significant in terms of future health and well-being, so I will concentrate primarily on milk substitutes, more especially because I think this is an area where most potential exists for improvement. Many studies have shown that growth and development are less optimal in babies fed formula or substitutes than those who are given breast milk. However, it is not always possible to provide breast milk to the infant, and various formulae have been developed, and continue to be developed, to try and provide an acceptable substitute.

Originally, animal milks were used, but the first synthesised milk was invented in 1865 and by 1883 there were 27 patented infant foods. The original substitutes were primarily of animal milk with the addition of various ingredients such as wheat and malt flour and potassium bicarbonate. As time went on, various ingredients were added to improve quality of the food. A good example of this is the development of human milk fat substitutes. The first, up to about the 1920s, provided fats for energy. Between the 20s and the 90s, fatty acids were added and from then to the present, triacylglycerols and complex lipids were added. The structure of lipids in milk is also important. Fat globules consist of a triacyl glycerol core, surrounded by plasma membrane derived from the secretory cells.

Currently, human milk substitute constituents are controlled. The list of required nutrients is given in the Codex Alimentarius. Other ingredients can be added if shown scientifically to be of benefit. Importantly, human milk has many “non-nutritional” components, that perform diverse physiological functions, not all of which are completely understood. These include different cell types, bioactive components, growth factors, hormones and immunological factors. Oligosaccharides function as prebiotics and may also play a role with proteins, to act as “decoy” receptors for pathogens with affinity for the oligosaccharides on the intestinal surface. Human milk also has its own microbiome, which is very varied and which changes during lactation. The function of many of these bacteria remains obscure!

Recent studies have identified many microRNAs which may have important functions, not all of which are understood. MicroRNAs are short, noncoding RNA sequences, which act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. miRNA are taken up across the infant epithelium and transferred to target tissues through the bloodstream. All of these components are important, and approaches to reproduce them and their functions could help in improving milk substitutes.

EFSA has published opinions on nutritional content of infant formula and follow-on foods. The panel concluded that nutrients and other substances should be added only in amounts that serve a nutritional or other benefit. This seems self-evident, and reduces the value of considering novel foods. However, sources of nutrients other than, for example, cow or goat milk, may become more appropriate for sustainability or economic reasons, so that continued research can be of value.

In conclusion, I have considered in some detail the composition of human milk, and how its components may play a function in normal development of the human infant. Although these may not be easy to provide, the differences between breast milk components and substitutes, and the difference in outcome between babies fed breast milk and those given substitutes, makes clear the value of continuing to find novel foods in paediatric nutrition.

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Novel Foods and New Sources of Proteins: The Example of Insects

Session Type
Plenary Session
Date
04/01/2023
Session Time
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Room
Platinum Suite Room 1+2
Lecture Time
09:20 AM - 09:45 AM

Abstract

Abstract Body

The agri-food sector is constantly evolving, trying to meet the existing socio-economic, health-related, and environmental demands. New dietary choices are being explored, aspiring to provide additional choices to consumers. Recent advances in food science and technology enable new protein sources such as algae, cell culture-derived foods, and insects to emerge in the current food systems.

With regard to insects, certain species have been part of the diet of various populations, however, they remain a dietary novelty for most of the western population, with different regulatory frameworks globally governing the use of insects as food. In the European Union (EU) and other European countries, insects and products thereof are considered novel foods, and their safety assessment is required before potential market authorisation. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the responsible EU entity for carrying out such assessments, has already concluded, with a positive outcome, the safety evaluation of several insect-derived foods and food ingredients as novel foods.

The products assessed so far derive from yellow mealworm (Tenebrio molitor larvae), lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus larvae), migratory locust (Locusta migratoria adults), and house cricket (Acheta domesticus adults), and for most of them market authorization has been already granted. These insect-derived foods comprise mainly whole insects (i.e., whole dried, whole frozen, powder); assessments of insect-derived ingredients such as protein concentrates, protein hydrolysates, and other fractions are ongoing.

Like other novel protein sources, EFSA assesses whether the consumption of insects and products thereof can be associated with health risks arising from the source per se or from the production process. Such assessments are conducted in the framework of a novel food application dossier, submitted by the food business operators who intend to market such products. Hazard identification and characterisation are performed by EFSA, by assessing the respective body of scientific evidence (requirements are described in EFSA’s scientific and technical guidance documents for novel foods). Chemical and microbiological data, nutritional and toxicological information, as well as allergenicity aspects, are among the elements to be investigated. Taking into consideration also the proposed uses and use levels, an exposure assessment follows, to finally characterise any potential risk.

In the respective EFSA outputs, the high relevance of insect feed to the safety of the final products has been stressed since certain insect species can bioaccumulate hazardous compounds from the feed if present. From a nutrition point of view, it has been highlighted that the protein levels of insects can be overestimated when chitin, a component of insects’ exoskeleton, is present in the final product. Furthermore, it has been emphasised that the consumption of such products can potentially induce allergic reactions in humans (sensitisation, cross-reactivity, allergens from the feed).

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Q&A

Session Type
Plenary Session
Date
04/01/2023
Session Time
08:30 AM - 10:00 AM
Room
Platinum Suite Room 1+2
Lecture Time
09:45 AM - 10:00 AM