The Food Additives and Novel Foods (Authorisations and Miscellaneous Amendments) and Food Flavourings (Deauthorisation) (England) Regulations 2024 were made on 22 May 2024 and came into force on 28 June, signed by Andrea Leadsom, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, 23 May 2024, and deal with, amongst other things Regulations on the authorisation, use and labelling requirements for food additives, novel foods and food flavourings, the main elements of which include:

(1) amending Annex 2 of the EU Regulation (EC) No.1333/2008, adding a new food additive steviol glycosides (E960b), and modifying the conditions of use of existing food additives, setting maximum residue limits for ethylene oxide in food additives, and requiring that the total residue level (the sum of ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol, in terms of ethylene oxide) shall not exceed 0.1mg /kg;

(2) Four new types of novel foods have been added to the EU list of novel foods, including partially hydrolysed proteins of barley and rice, bovine milk whey protein isolate, cetylated fatty acids and 3-fucosyl lactose (produced by a derivative strain of E. coli K-12DH1), and the labels of the novel foods should use the words ‘novel food’ or ‘novel food’. The name of the novel food on the label should use the words ‘novel food’ or ‘new food’, followed by the name of the specific novel food, and provide information on its characteristics, use, safety, etc., and extend the scope of use of bovine milk whey protein isolate to infant formula, follow-on formula, total dietary substitutes, food for special medical purposes and dietary supplements. in products with maximum use levels in different products, correcting the specifications for the new food products lactulose-N-fucose pentasaccharide I and 2‘-fucosyl lactose mixtures by correcting the dry matter content from “≥70%” to “≥75%”, where lactulose-N-fucose pentasaccharide I and 2’-fucosyl lactose mixtures are corrected from ‘≥70%’ to ‘≥75%’. The content of Lactose-N-Fucose Pentasaccharide I was corrected from ‘≥40%’ to ‘≥50%’ and the content of 2'-fucosyl lactose was corrected from “≥10%” to ‘≥15%’;

(3) 22 flavouring substances have been removed from the list of authorised food flavourings. Foods containing the 22 removed flavourings that are sold in the UK or shipped to the UK before 28 June 2024 may continue to be sold and used until the minimum shelf-life or ‘use by’ date, or they may be added to other foods before 28 June, after which time foods containing these flavourings may be added to other foods. After 28 June, food containing these flavourings will be banned from sale and use.

For more information: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2024/685/made