G/SPS/GEN/1335  
19 June 2014  
(14-3558)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  COMMENTS ON THE PROPOSAL FOR A REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
AND OF THE COUNCIL ON NOVEL FOODS (DOCUMENT G/SPS/N/EU/64) 
COMMUNICATION FROM PERU 
The following communication, dated 17 June 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Peru. 
 
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  1.  Peru wishes to thank the European Union for presenting a proposal for a Regulation repealing 
Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 on novel foods, notified to this Committee in document 
G/SPS/N/EU/64 and addenda thereto. 
2.  In accordance with the established procedure, Peru submitted a number of comments on this 
proposal in document G/SPS/GEN/1329. These comments concern points that Peru considers could 
be improved in the final regulation repealing Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 in order to facilitate access to the European market for biodiver sity products from developing countries. 
3.  On this occasion, Peru would like to address a key issue in the proposed Regulation repealing 
Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 on novel foods, namely  the definitions of "novel food", "traditional 
food from a third country" and "history of safe  food use in a third country" in Article 2.2 
of the proposal. 
4.  With regard to the definition of "novel food",  the draft maintains 15 May 1997 as the reference 
date for determining that a food is novel if it has not been marketed in the European Union until then, which is arbitrary and constitutes an unjustified restriction on access to the European 
market. Peru requests that the European Union, in accordance with Articles 2.2 (Basic Rights 
and Obligations) and 5.1 (Assessment of Risk and Determination of the Appropriate Level 
of Sanitary or Phytosanitary Protection) of the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures, specify the scientific principles and the risk assessment on the basis 
of which it established 15 May 1997 as the reference date for determining that a food is novel. 
5.  In relation to the definition of "traditional food from a third country", Peru is concerned because 
the majority of potentially exportable traditional foods derived from native biodiversity involve 
a high level of processing and are not necessarily derived from primary production. 
Such is the case, for example, of Peruvian exports of sacha inchi ( Plukenetia volubilis Linneo ) 
to Canada, the United States of America and Japan and of camu camu ( Myrciaria dubia ) 
to the United States of America, Japan and Australia in 2013. 
6.  As far as the definition of "history of safe food use in a third country" is concerned, although 
it is important to refer to this in the draft amendment to the Regulation, the time-period 
of twenty-five (25) years for demonstrating safe use is too long and does not guarantee real 
and timely access to the European market for these traditional products derived from biodiversity. Furthermore, continued use in the customary diet of a large part of the population as a requirement is too onerous and difficult to pr ove for exporters of these biodiversity products, 
which are mostly small and medium-sized producer-exporters. Peru therefore suggests, in relation 
to the history of safe food use in a third country, consideration of a period of five (5) years within a given geographical area of the respective country without any indication of risk to human health 
during this period. G/SPS/GEN/1335 
- 2 - 
  7.  In view of the foregoing, Peru requests that th e European Union review the definitions provided 
in the proposed Regulation repealing Regulation (EC) No. 258/97 in order to establish criteria that afford traditional biodiversity products from  developing countries real and timely access 
to the European market. 
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