On 29 July 2022, the Belgian Authorities submitted a TRIS notification regarding the amendment of the Belgian Royal Decree of 31 August 2021 on the production of and trade in foodstuffs composed of or containing plants or plant preparations. The standstill period to provide feedback has been extended until 30 January 2023. The TRIS Notification 2022/532/B is accessible here.
The notified Belgian decree foresees the removal of several plants from the list of authorised plants in foodstuffs in Belgium due to their alleged novel food status in accordance with the Novel Foods Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. Specifically, 39 plants and parts of plants with a long history of safe use based on tradition would be removed from the approved list in Belgium.
It is worth recalling that originally the Belgian Authorities contested the novel food status of 55 plants and parts of plants. BE-SUP, EHPM and its Members have been working on this dossier for a long time, and have provided data on the history of use of several of these plants or parts of plants contributing to shorten the number of plants and parts of plants whose non-novel status is at risk from 55 to 39.
On 25 October 2022, EHPM submitted a contribution on the TRIS portal, highlighting among others that the concerned plants and parts of plants have a long history of safe use in food supplements.
Read more by downloading the EHPM contribution here.
