. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1137 
2 March 2012 
 (12-1203) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original: Spanish 
  
 
RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO THE EUROPEAN MARKET 
THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
REGULATION 258/97 CONCERNING 
NOVEL FOODS 
 
Communication from Peru 
 
  The following communication, received on 28 Fe bruary 2012, is being circulated at the 
request of the delegation of Peru. 
 
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 1. Peru reiterates before the WTO Membership its trade concern regarding Regulation 
No. 258/97 of the European Parliament and of th e Council, the implementation of which restricts 
entry into the European market of certain foods a nd food ingredients (termed "novel foods") that were 
not marketed in Europe prior to 15 May 1997. 
2. According to Regulation No. 258/97, for food qua lified as novel to be able to enter Europe, it 
must go through a long, complex and very costly registration process which includes providing scientific information on the safety of the product, involving clinical studies that call for significant 
investments for each product to be registered. 
3. The Regulation does not distinguish between foods and ingredients that are new in the strict 
sense, i.e. that have not been consumed anywhere in the world, and those that are new only in the 
European Union.  For the most part, traditi onal products deriving from mega biodiversity, the 
majority of which come from developing countries, fa ll in the latter category.  In light of the above, 
the measures applied by the European Union ar e unnecessary and excessive in that they equate 
products that are new in the strict sense with products that already have a history of safe consumption 
in other markets and so present no risk whatsoever for consumer health. 
4. The Regulation and its implementa tion constitute an unwarranted ba rrier to international trade 
in traditional products, owing to the high costs resulting from the scientific studies required and the long process to approve their entry into the mark et, which discriminates against traditional products 
that did not enter or were not marketed in any significant way in the European market prior to 
May 1997. 
5. It is important to highlight how the applica tion of the Regulation is  affecting exports of 
various traditional Peruvian products, such as algarrobo ( Prosopis pallida ), as mentioned in 
document G/SPS/GEN/1117 dated 12 October 2011.  In 2011, the United Kingdom Food Standards 
Agency and the UK Trading Standards Institute i ndicated that algarrobo might be considered a novel 
food, which prompted the Peruvian authorities to submit information on export statistics and shipping 
documents showing that algarrobo had entered th e European market before 15 May 1997.  In 
August 2011, the UK Department for Busin ess, Innovation and Skills responded to the G/SPS/GEN/1137 
Page 2  
 
  Peruvian Government, confirming its support for the non-official opinion issued by the UK Foods 
Standards Agency that considered algarrobo as a nove l food.  To date, there has been no official 
announcement from this agency.  However, on 21 February 2012, a company established in Spain stated that the Spanish health authority had denied  a shipment of algarrobo by-products entry into the 
country, as they were not deemed for human consumption. 
6. Peru asks that it be taken into considerati on that many of these traditional products are 
marketed in various countries and have a histor y of safe consumption.  Having regard to the 
provisions of WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, we 
therefore request that the European Union refrain from applying Regulation No. 258/97 to traditional products which have a history of safe consumpti on in Peru or in other countries outside the 
European market. 
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