Since whole insects do not fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 258/97, but are now regarded as “novel foods”, they may, in accordance with the transitional measures (paragraph 2 of Article 35 Regulation (EU) 2015/2283), continue to be placed on the market until a decision is taken on their application for authorisation of a “novel food” and subject to the following cumulative conditions:
- the whole insects and products thereof were legally placed on the market before 1 January 2018, and
- an application for authorisation as a “novel food” was submitted by 1 January 2019 at the latest.
It concerns whole insects belonging to the species listed below. These five insect species were evaluated as safe in the "Common Advice SciCom 14-2014 and SHC No 9160". The two insect species that are now additionally tolerated in Belgium, with respect to the previous period (see list on the website of the FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, FPS Health), are shown below in bold.
- Acheta domesticus (house cricket)
- Alphitobius diaperinus (lesser mealworm)
- Gryllodes sigillatus (banded cricket)
- Locusta migratoria (African migratory grasshopper)
- Tenebrio molitor (yellow mealworm from yellow meal beetle)
The transitional measures therefore only apply to the whole insects listed above, and only for the respective uses stated in the applications for authorisation submitted to the European Commission (see the Q&A of the FPS Health). It is therefore necessary to take into account the species of insect and its development stage (larva, adults), as well as the technological treatment applied to the whole insects and the categories of products in which they are used. Since applications had to be submitted by 1 January 2019 at the latest in order to qualify for the transitional measures, whereas under the previous Belgian tolerance policy an application had to be submitted by 1 January 2018, more uses are now being tolerated. The details can be found in the Annex of the Q&A of the FPS Health.
Belgium only tolerates the placement on the market of foodstuffs based on these whole insects, subject to the transitional measures, which are produced by:
- Belgian operators registered with the FASFC, or
- operators in other EU Member States, where these products are legally on the market (and where they are therefore covered by the transitional measures), or
- operators in third countries, provided that these countries are listed as third countries authorised for export of insects to the European Union and these foodstuffs are accompanied by an official certificate for entry into the European Union, in view of the placing on the market of insects for human consumption, completed by the competent authority of the third country.
Consequently, the Belgian tolerance policy does not apply to insects and their products:
- that are not included in the Annex of the Q&A of the FPS Health;
- that are not used whole;
- for which an application for authorisation was submitted after 1 January 2019. These operators are required to wait for approval of their products as “novel food” before placing them on the market;
- from EU Member States where they were not legally placed on the market;
- from third countries that do not fulfil the conditions for importing insects in accordance with the applicable EU regulations.
What is the situation in the other EU Member States?
If you want to buy or sell insect-based foodstuffs in another Member State, you will need to check with the competent authorities of this Member State as to how the transitional measures for the placing on the market of insects for human consumption are being applied. For example, it is not permitted to purchase whole insects in a Member State where they are not being legally placed on the market in order to place them on the market in Belgium, possibly after further processing.
Export to third countries
If the insects (or insect-based products) have an authorisation for placement on the market under Regulation (EU) No 2015/2283 on novel foods or if they are covered by the transitional measures (provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 35 Regulation (EU) No 2015/2283), the production of these insects is authorised if the applicable rules are complied with. Even if the insects are exclusively destined for export to a third country, the producer of these insects, like any producer of food stuffs, must be registered with the FASFC and will be subject to official controls.
If there is no authorisation for these insects (or insect-based products) to be placed on the market under Regulation (EU) No 2015/2283 on novel foods or if they are not covered by the transitional measures (provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 35 Regulation (EU) No 2015/2283), the production of these insects is in principle not permitted. However, if these insects are only destined for export to a third country that permits the import of these insects (or insect-based products) from Belgium and permits the consumption of these products in its territory, the interested operator may contact his local control unit (LCU) of the FASFC. In any case, the operator is not permitted to place these insects (or insect-based products) on the market within the EU and, consequently, it is not permitted to rely on intermediate operators within the EU (e.g. for a processing step). The operator is also not permitted to purchase unauthorised insects (or insect-based products) and it is therefore required to assure the entire production process.
In all cases, it is the responsibility of the producers of insects (and insect-based products) to ensure compliance with any additional requirements, specific to production, that are imposed by the importing country.
How can an authorisation be obtained for “novel foods”?
Applications for authorisation are submitted by an operator (or a consortium of operators) to the European Commission via an "e-submission" system. The Commission evaluates the validity of the application files (= validation stage).
Summaries of the validated applications can be found on the website of the European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/food/safety/novel_food/authorisations/summary-applications-and-notifications_en).
The Commission presents the valid applications to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) for advice. If the scientific opinion of the EFSA is favourable, the Commission, in cooperation with the authorities of the Member States, will grant an authorization. The novel food in question will be added to the European Union list of approved novel foods.
For more information, see the Q&A of the FPS Health.