FSA News Item, 19 June 2013
A Chilean company has applied to the FSA to market chia oil as a novel food ingredient and views are wanted on the FSA's independent advisory committee draft opinion. This is the first application for the use of chia oil, but the advisory committee has previously considered two applications for the authorisation of chia seeds, which are the source of chia oil, in a number of food categories.
Chia oil and seeds are from the chia plant (also known as Salvia hispanica L). The oil contains significant quantities of alpha linolenic acid and linoleic acid, which are polyunsaturated fatty acids.
The company applying is Functional Products Trading SA.
A news story about the two applications for the use of chia seeds as a novel food ingredient can be found via the link towards the end of this page.
About novel foods
A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.
Before any new food product can be introduced on the European market, it must be assessed rigorously for safety. In the UK, the assessment of novel foods is carried out by an independent committee of scientists appointed by the Food Standards Agency, the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP).
Deadline for comments
The Agency is inviting comments on the draft opinion. Any comments should be emailed to the ACNFP Secretariat by Monday 1 July 2013.
The comments received will be passed to the committee before it adopts its final opinion on this novel food ingredient.
For previous news item, see: 7 June 2013 NOVEL FOODS - Views wanted on chia seeds