COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGUL ATION (EU) 2020/24 
of 13 Januar y 2020 
author ising an extension of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as a novel food and the change of the 
conditions of use and the specif ic labelling requirements of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) under 
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council and amending 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION, 
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
Havi ng regar d 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 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 author ised and included in the Union list may be placed 
on the mark et within the Union. 
(2) Pursuant to Article 8 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, Commission Implemen ting Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 (2) 
establishing a Union list of author ised novel foods was adopt ed. 
(3) Pursuant to Article 12 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, the Commission is to submit a draf t implementing act 
author ising placing on the Union mark et of a novel food and on the updating of the Union list. 
(4) Commission Decision 2009/827/EC (3) author ised, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 258/97, the placing on 
the mark et in the Union of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as a novel food to be used in bread products. 
(5) Commission Imp lementing Decision 2013/50/EU (4) author ised, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 258/97, an 
extensi on of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as a novel food to be used in additional food catego ries as follo ws: 
baked products; breakfast cereals; fruit, nut and seed mixes, and pre-pack ed chia seeds as such. 
(6) On 18 Sept ember 2015, an author isation letter was issued by the compet ent author ity of Ireland (5), in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (6), for an extensi on of use of the 
novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to be used in additional food catego ries, namely , in fruit juice and fruit/ 
veget able blend beverages. 
(7) On 17 October 2017, an author isation lette r was issued by the compe tent author ity of Austr ia (7), in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No 258/97, for an exte nsion of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to be used in 
additional food categor y, namely , fruit spreads. 
(1)OJ L 327, 11.12.2015, p. 1. 
(2)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 of 20 December 2017 establishing the Union list of novel foods in accordance 
with Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 of the European Parliament and of the Council on novel foods (OJ L 351, 30.12.2017, p. 72). 
(3)Commission Decision 2009/827/EC of 13 Octo ber 2009 author ising the placing on the market of Chia seed (Salvia hispanica) as novel 
food ingredient under Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 294, 11.11.2009, p. 14). 
(4)Commission Implementing Decision 2013/50/EU of 22 Januar y 2013 author ising an extension of use of Chia (Salvia hispanica) seed as 
a novel food ingredient under Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 21, 24.1.2013, p. 34). 
(5)Letter of 18 Sept ember 2015 (https://ec.europa.eu/f ood/sites/f ood/files/safety/docs/no vel-f ood_author isation_2015_auth-letter_c hia- 
seeds-2_en.pdf). 
(6)Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 Januar y 1997 concer ning novel foods and novel food 
ingredients (OJ L 43, 14.2.1997, p. 1). 
(7)Letter of 17 Octo ber 2017 (https://ec.europa.eu/f ood/sites/f ood/files/safety/docs/no vel-f ood_author isation_2017_auth-letter_c hia- 
seeds_en.pdf). EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 8/12                                                                                                                                            14.1.2020   (8) On 02 November 2017, an author isation lette r was issued by the compet ent author ity of Spain (8), in accordance 
with Regulation (EC) No 258/97, for an exte nsion of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to be used in 
additional food categor ies, namely , steril ised ready meals based on cereal grains, pseudocereal grains and/or pulses. 
(9) Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/2354 (9) author ised, in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 258/97, 
an extension of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to be used in additional food categor y, namely , in 
yoghur t. 
(10) On 13 Apr il 2017, the compan y Zentis GmbH & Co. KG submitted a request in accordance with Article 4 of 
Regulation (EC) No 258/97 to the compet ent author ity of German y to change the conditions of use of the novel 
food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica). The application request ed to extend the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in 
additional food categor ies, namely , fruit desser ts, mixed fruits with coconut milk for a twin pot, fruit-preparations 
to underla y dair y products and fruit-preparations to be mixed with dair y products, and to increase maximum use 
level of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in an already author ised food catego ry, namely fruit spreads. 
(11) On 12 Septembe r 2017, the compan y Sanc his Mira S.A. submitted a request in accordance with Article 4 of 
Regulation (EC) No 258/97 to the compet ent author ity of Spain for an extension of use of the novel food chia seeds 
(Salvia hispanica) in chocolate. On 25 Sept ember 2017, the compet ent author ity of Spain issued its initial assessment 
repor t. In that repor t, it came to the conclusion that the extensi on of use and proposed maximum use level of chia 
seeds (Salvia hispanica) meet the criteria for novel foods set out in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 258/97. 
(12) On 17 October 2017, the Commission forwarded the initial assessment repor t to the other Member States. One 
Member State raised objections, questioning the overall safety of the novel food in light of the 2009 European Food 
Safety Author ity (‘the Author ity’) NDA Panel assessment (10) as a result of the increasing dietar y intake of chia seeds 
(Salvia hispanica) from the growing number of author ised uses. The objecting Member State underlined that while 
individual uses, including the proposed use in choc olate at 3 %, may be safe, there is a need to assess the overall 
dietar y intake from all author ised uses since 2009 including the current request for the exte nsion of use and if 
necessar y, revise the 2009 NDA Panel safety assessment. 
(13) Pursuant to Article 35(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283, any request for placing a novel food on the mark et within 
the Union submitte d to a Member State in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 258/97 and for which 
the final decision has not been taken before 1 Januar y 2018 shall be treated as an application submitte d under 
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. 
(14) While the requests for an extension of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) were submitt ed to the Member States in 
accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 258/97, the applications also meet the requirements laid down in 
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. 
(15) On 2 Febr uary 2018, the compan y Parry’s Pots Limit ed (PPL) submitt ed a request to the Commission to change the 
conditions of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of Regulation 
(EU) 2015/2283. The application request ed to increase maximum use level of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in an 
already author ised food categor y, namely fruit spreads. 
(16) On 12 June 2018, the compan y Naturk ost Übelhör GmbH & Co. KG submitted a request to the Commission to 
change the conditions of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of 
Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The application request ed to extend the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in additional 
food categor ies, namely , chocolate and chocolat e products. 
(8)Letter of 2 November 2017 (https://ec.europa.eu/f ood/sites/ food/fil es/saf ety/docs/novel-f ood_author isation_2017_auth-lett er_chia- 
seeds-ext-st eri_en.pdf). 
(9)Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2017/2354 of 14 December 2017 author ising an extension of use of Chia seeds (Salvia 
hispanica) as a novel food ingredient under Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 336, 
16.12.2017, p. 49). 
(10)EFSA Journal 2009;7(4):996. EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 14.1.2020                                                                                                                                            L 8/13   (17) On 15 June 2018, the compan y Majami Sp.zo.o.Sp.k. submitted a request to the Commission to change the 
conditions of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of Regulation 
(EU) 2015/2283. The application request ed to extend the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in additional food 
catego ry, namely , confecti oner y. 
(18) On 16 July 2018, the compan y The Chia Co submitted a request to the Commission to chang e the conditions of use 
of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The 
application request ed to extend the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in additional food categor ies as follows: 
confecti oner y, excl uding chewing gums; dair y products and analogues; edible ices; fruit and vege table products; 
cereal and cereal products; baker y wares; herbs, spices, seasonings, soups and broths, sauces, salads and savoury 
based sandwic h spreads and prote in products; total diet replacement foods for weight control; foods bear ing 
state ments on the absence or reduced presence of gluten; non-alcoholic beverages; ready-t o-eat savouries and 
snac ks; and desser ts. 
(19) On 3 August 2018, the compan y Materne SAS submitt ed a request to the Commission to change the conditions of 
use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) 
2015/2283. The application request ed to exte nd the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in additional food catego ries, 
namely , compo tes from fruit and/or vegetables and/or with cereals. 
(20) On 9 Januar y 2019, the compan y RFH Produktion AB submitted a request to the Commission to change the 
conditions of use of the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) within the meaning of Article 10(1) of Regulation 
(EU) 2015/2283. The application request ed to extend the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in additional food 
catego ry, namely , puddings. 
(21) In accordance with Article 10(3) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and in the light of the growin g number of requests 
for the author isation of a number of extende d uses of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica), the new author ised uses in recent 
years, and the resulting poten tial increase in the dietar y intake of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica), the Commission 
consulte d the Auth ority on 16 July 2018, asking it to carry out an assessment on the overall dietar y exposure for all 
the poten tial extensions of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as a novel food. 
(22) On 14 March 2019, the Author ity adopt ed the scientific opinion ‘Safety of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) as a novel 
food for extended uses pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283’ (11). That opinion is in line with the requirements of 
Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. 
(23) In that opinion the Auth ority concluded, in reply to the Commission’s request for a general assessment of the safety 
without restr ictions or precautions regar ding the use levels, that the use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in foods whic h 
do not require heat treatment at or above 120 °C in their manufacture, processing or preparation, including 
chocolate, fruit spreads, fruit desser ts, mixed fruit with coconut milk in twin pot, fruit-preparations to underla y 
dair y products, fruit-preparations to be mixed with dair y products, confe ctioner y (excluding chewing gums), dair y 
products and analogues, edible ices, fruit and veget ables products, non-alcoholic beverages and compo tes from fruit 
and/or vegetables and/or with cereals, are safe without any specifi c restr ictions and precautions regarding their use 
levels. Theref ore, that scientific opinion gives suffi cient grounds to establish that the abov e-mentioned uses of chia 
seeds (Salvia hispanica) comply with the requirements of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. It is theref ore 
appropr iate that the conditions of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) as listed in the Union list of author ised novel 
foods are amended by including all of the abov e food catego ries and to remove the setting of maximum levels and 
the corresponding specifi c labelling requirement relating to the maximum daily intak e. In addition, although the use 
of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in puddings was not explicitly included in the assessment of the Author ity, the opinion 
gives suffic ient grounds to also author ise the extension of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to puddings that do not 
require heat treatment at or abov e 120 °C in their manufacture, processing or preparation. Puddings are to be 
underst ood as a subcategor y of products commonly kno wn as desser ts, which are usually flavour ed and sweet in 
taste . 
(11)EFSA Journal 2019;17(4):5657. EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 8/14                                                                                                                                            14.1.2020   (24) In the same opinion, the Auth ority considered one study , retrieved by the Auth ority itself from the publicly available 
scientific literature, and whic h was not part of the evidence submitted by applicants in suppor t of the proposed 
extensi ons of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica), which pointed to the possible formation of acrylamide when chia 
seeds (Salvia hispanica) are used in foods which require heat treatment at or abov e 120 °C in their manufacture, 
processing or preparation. 
(25) In that opinion, the Author ity considered that additional information is needed from applicants and/or from the 
public domain, to address the poten tial for acrylamide formation when foods containing chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) 
undergo heat treatment at or abov e 120 °C. In accordance with Article 11(4) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 the 
Authority has request ed additional information from the relevant applicant relating to potential formation of 
process contaminants which may be formed during processing and production of a food (at the level of the 
manufact urer) and/or when a food with added chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) is subjecte d to cooking (heat treatment at 
consumer level). The period set established for the provision of the additional information ends in March 2020. In 
the absence of such information in the submitted applications, the Auth ority defe rred the evaluation of those 
extensi ons of use of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) in foods which require heat treatment at or above 120 °C in their 
manufact ure, processing or preparation (bakery wares, cereal and cereal products, herbs, spices, seasonings, soups 
and broths, sauces, salads and savoury based sandwich spreads and protein products, total diet replacement foods 
for weight control as defined in Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (12), 
foods bear ing statements on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in accordance with the requirements of 
Commission Imple menting Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 (13), ready to eat savouries and snacks and desser ts) to 
when the additional information becomes available. It follows, that the Commission, at this stage, does not dispose 
of the opinion of the Author ity necessar y pursuant to Article 12(1)(a) and (c) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 for the 
approval of the extensi on of uses involving the treatment of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) at or abov e 120 °C. 
Theref ore, a further decision about such uses will be taken after the publication of the relevant opinion of the 
Authority. 
(26) The opinion of the Author ity also identif ied two case repor ts from the available scientific literature which linked the 
consum ption of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) to allergic reactions and concluded on the basis of this evidence that 
allergic reactions upon consum ption of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) may occur . Consider ing that, to date, only those 
two allergic cases have been repor ted, in light of the widespread consum ption of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) and 
their presence on the Union and global mark et for man y years, the Commission considers that no specifi c labelling 
requirements concer ning poten tial allergic reactions upon consum ption of chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) should be 
included in the Union list of author ised novel foods, until further scientifi c evidence on the allergen ic poten tial of 
chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) is obtained and assessed by the Author ity. 
(27) The measures provid ed for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committ ee on 
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
Article 1 
1. The entr y in the Union list of author ised novel foods as provi ded for in Article 6 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2283 and 
included in Imp lementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470, referring to the novel food chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) is amended 
as specifi ed in the Annex to this Regulation. 
2. The entr y in the Union list refer red to in paragraph 1 shall include the conditions of use and labelling requirements 
laid down in the Annex to this Regulation. 
(12)Regulation (EU) No 609/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 June 2013 on food intended for infants and young 
children, food for special medical purposes, and total diet replacement for weight control and repealing Council Directive 92/52/EEC, 
Commission Directives 96/8/EC, 1999/21/EC, 2006/125/EC and 2006/141/EC, Directive 2009/39/EC of the European Parliament 
and of the Council and Commission Regulations (EC) No 41/2009 and (EC) No 953/2009 (OJ L 181, 29.6.2013, p. 35). 
(13)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 of 30 July 2014 on the requirements for the provision of information to 
consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food (OJ L 228, 31.7.2014, p. 5). EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 14.1.2020                                                                                                                                            L 8/15   Article 2 
The Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 is amended in accordance with the Annex to this Regulation. 
Article 3 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day followi ng 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, 13 Januar y 2020.  
For the Commission 
The President 
Ursula VON DER LEYEN     EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 8/16                                                                                                                                            14.1.2020   ANNEX 
The entr y for ‘Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica)’ in Table 1 (Aut horised novel foods) of the Annex to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2470 is replaced by the following:                                                                
Autho rised novel food Conditions under whic h the novel food may be used Additional specific labelling requirements Other requirements 
‘Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica) Specified food categor y Maximum levels The designation of the novel food on the 
labelling of the foodstuffs containing it shall 
be “Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica)”’  Bread products 5 % (whole or ground chia seeds) 
Baked products 10 % whole chia seeds 
Breakf ast cereals 10 % whole chia seeds 
Ster ilised ready to eat meals based on 
cereal grains, pseudocereals grains and/ 
or pulses 5 % whole chia seeds 
Fruit, nut and seed mixes  
Pre-packa ged Chia seed as such  
Conf ectioner y (including chocolate and 
chocolate products), excl uding chewing 
gums  
Dair y products (including yoghur t) and 
analogues  
Edible ices  
Fruit and vege tables products (including 
fruit spreads, compo tes with/without 
cereals, fruit-preparations to underla y 
or to be mixed with dair y products, fruit 
desser ts, mixed fruits with coconut milk 
for a twin pot)  
Non-alcoholic beverages (including 
fruit juice and fruit/vege table blend 
beverages )   
Puddings that do not require heat treat­
ment at or above 120 °C in their manu­
facture, processing or preparation      EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 14.1.2020                                                                                                                                            L 8/17