Consultation on Edible Insects and Novel Food Authorisations Published

24th November 2022

The FSA has set out plans that will allow edible insects to remain on the market while they go through the process of a novel foods authorisation. The edible insects can only remain on sale if they were marketed in the EU or the UK before 1 January 2018 and were the subject of an application for EU authorisation as a novel food on or before 1 January 2019. Applications must now be made to the FSA (or Food Standards Scotland (FSS) in Scotland) by 31 December 2023, in order for the edible insects to remain on the market while the application is assessed. This is a similar approach to that which was adopted for cannabidiol (CBD), where there were already numerous products on the market before novel foods authorisations were submitted.