Under the EU novel food regulation, any food that was not eaten to a significant degree in the EU before 15 May 1997 is a novel food. It cannot be sold until it is authorised and added to the EU list of novel foods.
Many Indian herbs and spices have a long history of use in Europe and are not novel. But some botanicals, some plant parts and many concentrated extracts may be. Check the status of your exact product before you buy a container.
What decides the status
- The species: some Indian herbs were rarely used in Europe before 1997.
- The plant part: the leaf of a plant may have a history of use while the root or seed does not.
- The form: a dried herb used in tea may be fine while a concentrated extract of the same herb is not.
- The use: use in food supplements only can differ from use in general foods.
- The process: a new extraction or production process can make a known food novel.
How to check
The European Commission keeps a Novel Food Status Catalogue. It lists many botanicals with a note on whether they are novel, not novel, or not novel only in supplements. It is a guide, not a legal ruling, and many species are missing.
If your product is not in the catalogue or the status is unclear, you can ask the competent authority of an EU member state for a consultation on its status. Gather evidence of use in the EU before 1997, such as old product labels, invoices or published sources.
The UK runs its own novel food system after Brexit, based on the same principles. Check with the Food Standards Agency for UK sales.
Routes to authorisation
If a botanical is novel, there are two main routes. A full application goes through a safety assessment by EFSA and can take years. A shorter notification route exists for traditional foods from third countries, which needs evidence of safe use as food in a non-EU country for at least 25 years.
Either route takes time and money. Most importers do not start one for a single product. If the status is novel, it is usually safer to change the product or the market.
Related EU rules
A herb sold as a medicine falls under EU medicines law, including the simplified registration for traditional herbal medicinal products. Some member states also restrict certain botanicals in food supplements under national rules, so a herb accepted in one country may be refused in another.
Novel food status is separate from contaminant rules. A herb that is not novel still has to meet EU limits for pesticides, heavy metals, pyrrolizidine alkaloids and ethylene oxide.
Rules and catalogue entries change. Check the current position with the European Commission and your national food authority.
Where we come in
We confirm the exact species, plant part and form your supplier offers, so you can check status on the right product. We also gather the origin and process details an authority may ask about, and test each lot for EU contaminants. Start with a free sourcing review.