Algae as food and food supplements in Europe

Abstract

The use of algae biomass in food applications is still a growing market in Europe. One key consideration is the regulatory status of algae items potentially used as food and food supplements. In the European Union, foods classified as novel are subject to the pre-market authorisation requirements of the novel food regulation (EU) 2015/2283 before they can be freely placed in the European market without the need for pre-market novel food authorisation. In addition, novel and non-novel foods placed on the European market are subject to the requirements of all applicable food safety related EU Legislation. This technical report presents a comparative list of algae items (sensu lato) referred on the novel food catalogue, the Union list of authorized novel foods and official Member States’ lists of food and food supplements. Additionally, other algae food and food supplement items referred in available non-official lists are included. A final table merging all the information included in the official lists is presented following the most updated species taxonomic designation.