Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/684 of 28 April 2022 amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 as regards the conditions of use of the novel food galacto-oligosaccharide (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on novel foods, amending Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1852/2001 ¹, and in particular Article 12 thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 provides that only novel foods authorised and included in the Union list of novel foods may be placed on the market within the Union.

• (2) Pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 ² has established a Union list of novel foods.

• (3) The Union list set out in the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 includes galacto-oligosaccharide as an authorised novel food.

• (4) Pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council ³, galacto-oligosaccharide has been authorised to be placed on the market as a novel food to be used in a number of foods, including infant formula and follow-on formula as defined in Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁴.

• (5) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/900 ⁵ authorised a change of the conditions of use of the novel food galacto-oligosaccharide. In particular, the use level of the novel food galacto-oligosaccharide in food supplements as defined in Directive 2002/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ⁶ was increased from 0,333 kg galacto-oligosaccharide/kg of a food supplement (33,3 %) to 0,450 kg galacto-oligosaccharide/kg of a food supplement (45,0 %) for the general population, excluding infants and young children.

• (6) On 19 November 2019, the company Dairy Crest Ltd trading as Saputo Dairy UK (‘the applicant’) submitted an application to the Commission pursuant to Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 for an amendment of the conditions of use of the novel food galacto-oligosaccharide. The applicant requested to extend the use of galacto-oligosaccharide to dairy confectionary, cheese and processed cheese, butter and spreads intended for the general population.

• (7) In accordance with Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, the Commission consulted the European Food Safety Authority (‘the Authority’) on 21 December 2020, requesting it to provide a scientific opinion by carrying out an assessment of the proposed extension of use of the novel food galacto-oligosaccharide.

• (8) On 14 September 2021, the Authority adopted its scientific opinion on the ‘Safety of the extension of use of galacto-oligosaccharides as a Novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283’ ⁷ in accordance with Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

• (9) In its scientific opinion, the Authority concluded that the novel food that is composed of ≥ 57 % galacto-oligosaccharide dry matter, lactose and related saccharides, is safe under the proposed extension of use in dairy confectionary, cheese and processed cheese, butter and spreads, and therefore it is appropriate to amend the conditions of use of galacto-oligosaccharide.

• (10) The information provided in the application and the Authority’s opinion gives sufficient grounds to establish that the proposed changes to the conditions of use of the novel food are in accordance with Article 9 and Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and should be approved.

• (11) The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 should therefore be amended accordingly.

• (12) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 28 April 2022.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN

ANNEX

In Table 1 (Authorised novel foods) of the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470, the entry for ‘galacto-oligosaccharide’ is replaced by the following: