Novel foods represent the cutting edge of food innovation. Foods like cultivated meat and insect protein are often completely new to consumers.
While this arguably makes them more exciting, it also presents difficulties. In many markets, they require regulatory authorisation before they can reach the shelves. Regulators must ensure that they are safe for consumption.
When a food company develops a novel food, they must decide in which market to apply for approval. Food safety agencies all have different approaches, and start-ups must weigh up the pros and cons of each before making the decision.
What options do they have? What are the most attractive aspects of each?
European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) – EU
EFSA’s novel food application process is one of the most complex and highly respected in the world. It is recognised globally as especially rigorous and has been described as the “gold standard” for food safety. EFSA defines a novel food as a food not consumed significantly within the EU before May 1997.
A novel food application for the EU is first submitted to the European Commission, which after deciding its validity, forwards it on to EFSA.
In theory, EFSA is expected to issue an opinion within nine months of receiving a valid application. However, according to a recent study in Nature, this time period is almost always extended to EFSA’s requests for additional information.
Therefore, despite its credibility, the complexity and intricacy of EFSA’s application process means that approvals often take a very long time. According to the Nature study, the average novel food application with EFSA takes 2.56 years, with a leeway of 1.19 years. Even according to EFSA’s own targets, not enough assessments have been completed. Compared to a target of 42, only 22 assessments were completed in 2023.
Of course, there are significant benefits of going with EFSA, one of which is that approval would give you access to the entire EU market – around 448 million people, or 5.6% of the world’s population. If the EU was a country, it would be the world’s third most populous.
Nevertheless, EFSA’s process is very time consuming, meaning it’s regularly criticised. Certification company FoodChainID, for example, takes issue with its complex process for delaying market access to food companies.
EFSA has acknowledged the issues raised by the delays that the complexity of its approval process often causes, and says that it’s always on the lookout for ways to streamline the process. A recent EU strategy suggested that novel food approvals would soon be sped up.
Companies that have applied with EFSA currently include cultivated meat companies Gourmey and Mosa Meat. Some novel foods approved by EFSA include some types of protein concentrate and mushroom powder.

Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) – UK
Another option, aside from EFSA, is the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and its Scottish equivalent, Food Standards Scotland (FSS).
A novel food is defined by the FSA as a food that was not consumed by humans to a significant degree in the UK or EU before May 15, 1997. As the UK was part of the EU, it has the same novel food definition as the latter.
Like the EFSA, the FSA takes around two and a half years on average to grant approvals, although it recently introduced measures to speed up the process.
Like EFSA, the FSA has come under criticism. According to a 2024 report by FSA itself, many companies have been unhappy with certain aspects of their application process, such as not getting enough pre-application support, which is mostly limited to online guidance. Companies have also found many of its rules too rigid, and unable to adapt to new processes.
Since the FSA inherited its novel food processes from the EU, some say it’s not fit for purpose for a single state - it was designed for a multi-state bloc like the EU.
Nevertheless, regulators are introducing measures to make novel food applications somewhat easier. For example, a cultivated meat regulatory sandbox has been introduced to help start-ups test their products with fewer regulatory constraints.
Companies that have made applications to the FSA include Gourmey and Vital Meat.
Singapore Food Agency (SFA) – Singapore
The Singapore Food Agency is another go-to agency for many producers of novel foods. It defines novel foods as foods and ingredients that do not have a history of safe use.
The SFA is, unlike the FSA and EFSA, known for its speedy approval times. According to the SFA itself, it makes evaluations in an average time of nine to 12 months.

Also unlike the EFSA and FSA, Singapore’s agency has already given cultivated meat start-ups access to its market, with companies such as Vow and Eat Just receiving regulatory approval.
Singapore has recently introduced modifications to its process to provide legal clarity for companies.
Of course, while approvals can be speedy, the catch is that Singapore’s population is significantly smaller than the EU, UK or US – only 5.9m.
Furthermore, despite the relative swiftness of approval time, some challenges still remain with the SFA. Those applying to the SFA are required to have a local contact in Singapore.
National Food Services (NFS) – Israel
Israel’s National Food Services are in charge of novel food applications in the country. It judges applications on a case-by-case basis.
A novel food is defined by the NFS as a food that has not previously been widely used in Israel that comes under one of four categories. Firstly, it has a new molecular structure. Secondly, it contains an organism, or part of one, that has undergone genetic modification. Thirdly, it has been manufactured using a process not previously used in Israel. Lastly, it includes an ingredient of which there is not sufficient information in regards to safety.
Novel food applications in Israel usually take around 12 months, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI).
Novel food approvals from Israel include Aleph Farms’ cultivated beef, the first such approval in the world.
Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) – Switzerland
In Switzerland, novel foods are regulated by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO). Similarly to the EU, the FSVO defines novel foods as foods that have not been consumed to a significant degree in Switzerland or an EU member state before 15 May 1997.
The approval process for a novel food in Switzerland takes at least 12 months, according to GFI.
Novel foods in Switzerland are authorised for a period of five years, with no option of extension. However, if it still fulfils food safety obligations after reexamination by the FSVO, it is added to the Annex to the FDHA Ordinance on Novel Foods, and thus no longer requires an authorisation.
In 2023, Israeli cultivated meat company Aleph Farms submitted an application for approval with the FSVO.

FDA and USDA – USA
Technically, the US does not have a specific category of ‘novel foods’ in regulation. However, responsibility for the regulatory approvals of foods such as cultivated meat is shared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
While the US system does not include novel foods, it does have a system to approve foods.
If a food is considered safe by experts in the US, it is categorised as GRAS, or Generally Recognised as Safe. According to Certified Laboratories, a US biotechnology company, a GRAS assessment usually takes between six and 18 months.
Ingredients that cannot qualify as GRAS must complete a Food Additive Petition, which takes between two and five years.
Through this system, products such as cultivated meat from UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat have been approved for the US market. Along with Singapore and Israel, it is one of only three countries to approve cultivated meat.