EFSA scientists routinely evaluate the safety of novel proteins in the GMO A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism which contains genetic material that has been deliberately altered and which does not occur naturally through breeding or selection. and novel foods areas. Our evaluations include the safety of the production process used to manufacture the product under assessment.

We use guidelines produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the safety assessment of GM foods and feeds of plant origin, as well as our own guidance documents on GMO and novel food assessments. To be prepared for future needs we systematically update these to ensure they cover new product categories and the associated production processes.

Mapping novel protein production

To address possible gaps and support our future risk assessments, we recently kicked off a project to map the types of protein-rich food and feed products and the associated processing technologies, and to assess whether/how processing affects the proteins present in the raw commodity.

As part of the project, we are holding an expert survey to gather information about:

• Novel protein sources falling under the EU Novel Food Regulation (excluding traditional foods from third countries),
• Innovative/unconventional protein sources potentially for use in feed (eg, insects, microalgae, plant-based proteins),
• Food and feed products containing protein derived from GM or conventional plant crops, and
• Characterisation of the production processes for these three groups of products.

The survey takes approximately 10-20 minutes to complete. The deadline for replies is 23 February 2024.

Please help us keep Europe’s food safe and take the survey now!

https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/ProcessingProteins