ACNFP
THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON NOVEL FOODS AND PROCESSES
ACNFP Secretariat
Food Standards Agency
Room 515b Aviation House
125 Kingsway
London WC2B 6NH
Tel: +44 (0)20 7276 8595
Fax: +44 (0)20 7276 8564
acnfp@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk
ACNFP Minutes: 16 September 2008
Notes for the meeting of the Committee at 10.30am on 16 September in conference room 5, Aviation House, Kingsway, London
Present:
Professor Peter Shewry – Chairman
Ms Jayam Dalal
Professor Harry Flint
Dr Paul Haggarty
Professor John Mathers
Dr Clare Mills
Mrs Gillian Pope
Professor Christopher Ritson
Mr Kevin Swoffer
Apologies:
Dr Paul Brantom
Professor Michael Bushell
Professor Andrew Chesson
Professor Gary Foster
Professor Mike Gasson
Professor Stephen Holgate
Professor John Warner
FSA Observer
Dr Bindiya Shah (Item 8)
Secretariat
Ms Alison Asquith - Minutes
Ms Shuhana Begum
Dr Chris Jones
Dr Darren Key
Dr Sandy Lawrie - ACNFP Secretary
Dr Manisha Upadhyay
Ms Sandeep Virdee
Members are required to declare any personal interest in matters under discussion. Where Members have a particularly close association with any item, the Chairman will limit their involvement in the discussion. In cases where an item is to be discussed in their absence, a Member may make a statement before leaving.
1. Apologies and announcements
Seven members had sent apologies for non-attendance. In the absence of Mike Gasson, Peter Shewry agreed to chair the meeting. Apologies were also received from observers from the FSA Assessor (Dr Clair Baynton), FSA Scotland, FSA Wales and Northern Ireland (Mrs Elspeth MacDonald, Mr Phil Morgan and Mr Gerry McCurdy).
The Chairman welcomed Sandeep Virdee who has rejoined the Secretariat on the Administration team and Darren Key who has joined the Secretariat as a Scientific Officer.
The Chairman reminded Members of the need to announce any commercial interests in the business of the Committee, prior to the discussions on each item.
2. Minutes of the 89th meeting DRAFT/ACNFP/89/Min
Members agreed that the minutes were a true record of the 89th meeting of the ACNFP held on Thursday 24 July.
3. Matters Arising
The Secretariat provided the following update on items arising either following the previous meeting or in the previous meeting.
Bovine Lactoferrin. ACNFP/90/P1
The Committee considered an initial opinion from the Belgian Competent Authority via a postal consultation in August. Members highlighted a number of concerns regarding allergy labeling and a number of concerns about the nature and extent of toxicological studies that had been carried out by the applicant. These were reflected in the UK response that was sent to the Commission within the 60 day deadline.
ITEM 4: Phosphate Distarch Phosphate
This application was still being discussed with individual experts on the Committee.
ITEM 8: EFSA Guidelines on the Risk Assessment of GMOs
No further comments were received from Committee members.
4. beta-Glucan rich extract from Lentinus edodes ACNFP/90/1
This novel ingredient has been discussed on a number of occasions since November 2006. The Committee was invited to consider the text of the draft opinion.
The Committee agreed the text of the draft opinion subject to a number of typographical amendments being made. The Secretariat agreed to issue the revised text for public consultation.
Action: Secretariat
5. Touchi (Black Bean) Extract ACNFP/90/2
The Committee considered this application for the authorisation of Touchi (Black Bean) extract as a novel food ingredient in July 2008. It was asked to consider further information provided by the applicant in response to its earlier concerns from the July meeting.
Members were satisfied with the responses to the majority of its concerns but did not accept the information that was provided to demonstrate similarity of Touchi extract to black bean sauce. The Committee indicated that whilst there appeared to be similarities between the two products, the SDS-PAGE gel was of a poor quality and therefore requested a new analysis to demonstrate the similarity of the proteins in the two products.
Members questioned how the novel ingredient assists in slowing the breakdown of carbohydrates and requested information on the mechanism involved. Members recommended that the applicant should ensure mechanisms are in place for consumers to report adverse effects as a result of consuming Touchi extract.
The Secretariat agreed to obtain further information from the applicant on these points and to also draft an opinion for consideration at the next meeting.
Action: Secretariat
6. D-Ribose ACNFP/90/3
The Committee considered this application for the authorisation of D-Ribose as a novel food ingredient in April and June 2008. It was asked to consider further information provided by the applicant in response to its earlier concerns.
The Committee remained concerned that the maximum tolerated dose was exceeded in the developmental study and that the data were therefore of limited value. The Committee also noted that ribose consumption alters glucose and insulin levels but the mechanism for this effect is unclear. The Committee recalled the important role of glucose during pregnancy and development and remained concerned that ribose consumption could interfere with this, noting that young active women may be particularly attracted to products containing this ingredient. It therefore advised that developmental studies be repeated at lower doses to address this gap in the available data.
The Committee also remained concerned over the potential effect on uric acid levels. The study by Fenstad et al., cited by the applicant to demonstrate the lack of a significant increase in uric acid levels, did not provide adequate reassurance. This was a single dose study conducted in only ten young and healthy individuals. The Committee considered that studies involving a larger number and wider range of subjects would be needed to address this question. In the absence of such studies, appropriate risk management would need to be considered on a precautionary basis. Additionally, the Committee noted that it is not possible to guarantee that products containing the novel ingredient would not be consumed by people at risk of hyperuricemia, such as 50-60 year old overweight males.
The Committee was not assured that individual intakes of sports and energy drinks had not increased since the time of the NDNS data on which the intake estimates were based. It considered that more information on intakes of energy drinks, preferably relating to different age groups, to illustrate trends in individual consumption would be of value.
The Committee noted that the applicant had not confirmed the identity of the strain of bacteria used to produce D-Ribose but would do so shortly.
7. Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) – Rich Oil ACNFP/90/4
The Committee considered the Spanish Competent Authority’s initial opinion on this application for authorisation of CLA – Rich Oil derived from safflower seed as a novel food ingredient.
The Committee were concerned that there was no clear evidence that the suggested intake of 3g/day was safe, and that there may be detrimental health effects for diabetics as one of two recent studies showed adverse effects in prediabetics at an intake level of 3g/day. The Committee considered that the evidence of oxidative stress had been dismissed and that the stability of the oil had not been examined in different food matrices.
The Secretariat agreed to transmit the Committee’s comments to the European Commission as part of the UK's formal response to the Spanish opinion.
Action:Secretariat
8. Lycopene-rich oleoresin from tomatoes ACNFP/90/5
The Committee considered the Dutch Competent Authority’s initial opinion on this application for authorisation of lycopene-rich oleoresin from tomatoes as Foods for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP).
The Committee was in agreement with the Dutch assessment and their positive opinion on the lycopene content of the product, but highlighted that there is evidence that consumption of the tomato-based lycopene product causes a statistically significant increase in plasma beta-carotene levels, which could be undesirable given the link that has been demonstrated between beta-carotene supplementation and risk of lung cancer in certain population groups. The Committee considered that the addition of a carotenoid mix that includes beta-carotene, to FSMP may be undesirable in individuals who are advised to avoid beta-carotene supplementation or who have lung cancer.
The Secretariat agreed to respond to the European Commission.
Action: Secretariat
9. Policosanol ACNFP/90/6
The Committee considered the Belgian Competent Authority’s initial opinion on this application for authorisation of Policosanol obtained from the wax fraction of sugar cane as a novel food ingredient.
The Committee endorsed the views of the Belgian Competent Authority and the Secretariat agreed to respond to the European Commission.
10. Open Meeting ACNFP/90/7
Members considered the organisation for the next ACNFP workshop/open event, which is due to take place on the afternoon of 18 February 2009.
The Committee agreed that the format of the meeting would be similar to the one for the previous year and suggested a number of topics which they considered would be of interest.
11. Items for Information
11.1 Review of scientific study on immunogenicity of GM peas ACNFP/90/8
11.2 EU update ACNFP/90/9
11.3 Update on other Scientific Advisory Committees ACNFP/90/10
The Committee noted these papers without comment.
12. Any other business
Jayam Dalal reported that she had represented consumer representatives from the Food Standard Agency's Advisory Committees at the launch of the Chief Scientists Annual Report, which took place at the British Association's Festival of Science in Liverpool on 11 September.
The Secretariat agreed to follow up action about the extranet, which might be used in future to provide Members with access to electronic copies of the meeting papers and other documents.
Action:Secretariat
13. Date of next meeting
The next meeting was scheduled to be on 20 November 2008