Transparency data

ACNFP Minutes of the 177th meeting held on the 17th of June 2026

Updated 4 November 2026

These minutes are subject to confirmation by the Committee. 

Members are required to declare any personal interest in matters under discussion. Where Members have a particularly close association with any item, the Chairman will limit their involvement in the discussion. In cases where an item is to be discussed in their absence, a member may make a statement before leaving.

Minutes of the 177th meeting of the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes, held on the 17th of June at 64 Victoria Street, London as a hybrid meeting.

Attendance

Committee Chair

Dr Camilla Alexander-White

Committee Members

Dr Anton Alldrick

Dr Meera Cush

Dr Cathrina Edwards

Professor Sophie Foley

Professor Paul Fraser

Dr Andy Greenfield

Professor Paul Haggarty

Professor Wendy Harwood

Professor Gunter Kuhnle

Professor Clare Mills

Dr Isabel Skypala

Professor Hans Verhagen

Professor Bruce Whitelaw

Professor Dimitris Charalampopoulos

Professor Huw D. Jones

Dr Elizabeth Lund

Dr Lynn McIntyre

For the CCP items on the agenda:

Professor Ramiro Alberio - Co-opted Member–CCP subgroup

For the CBD items on the agenda:

Rev. Professor Lesley Stanley - Co-opted Member–CBD subgroup

Apologies

Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait

Professor Alastair Macrae

Professor George Bassel

Professor Peter Gregory  - Representative Science Council

Professor Simon Pearson - Representative Science Council

Assessor

Ms Arvind Thandi  - Head of Novel Foods Policy

Observers FSA

Ms Polly Bevan - Regulated Products Risk Assessor

Dr Edward Fuller - Senior Regulated Products Risk Assessor

Dr Tahmina Khan - Regulated Products Risk Assessment

Observers Devolved administration

Ms Kaila Lee - Policy, FSA Wales

Mr Jeremy Mills - Policy, FSA Wales

Mr Lorcan Browne - Food Standards Scotland

Mr Niall Grieve - Policy, FSA Northern Ireland

Secretariat

Mrs Ruth  Willis - Technical Secretary

Mrs Afielia Choudhry - Science Secretariat

Ms Karen Ashby - Science Secretariat

Mr Matt Hall - Science Secretariat

Dr Andrew Hartley - Science Secretariat

Mr Ben Haynes - Science Secretariat

Dr Daniel Lloyd - Technical Secretary of the CCP subgroup

Ms Jenny Rees - Science Secretariat

Dr Katie Schulz - Science Secretariat

Mr Will Smith - Science Secretariat

Mrs Jodie Towns - Science Secretariat

Miss Victoria Balch - Administrative Secretariat

1. Apologies and Announcements

Apologies were received from Professor Susan Fairweather-Tait, Professor Alistair Macrae and Professor George Bassel. Apologies were also received from Peter Gregory and Simon Pearson, the Science Council representatives.

The Chair reminded Members of the need to announce any potential conflicts of interests prior to the discussions of each item. Dr Anton Alldrick declared a potential conflict in relation to CBD applications RP450 and RP1291 and would not be involved in the discussions on these applications.

2. Welcome

The Chair welcomed the Members, representatives from the FSA, the observers from the devolved administrations and the Secretariat team. The Chair also welcomed the policy leads acting as FSA assessors for the CCP and Novel Foods items on the agenda.

3. Meeting Minutes for the 176th Meeting

ACNFP/176/MINS

The Committee agreed the 176th meeting draft minutes for publication on the ACNFP website.

4. Matters Arising from the last meeting.

ACNFP/176/MA

The Secretariat reported on actions from the 176th meeting:

• Beta-lactoglobulin RP1571 - The Committee reviewed this novel food application for the third time. Information gaps to meet the requirements of the novel foods technical guidance were identified in production process, composition and specification. The Secretariat is seeking further information from the applicant, which will be reviewed by the Committee at the next available meeting.
• Human-equivalent Lactoferrin Alpha RP2296 - The Committee reviewed this novel food application for human-equivalent lactoferrin alpha for the first time. Information gaps to meet the requirements of the novel foods technical guidance were identified. The Committee will continue the initial review of the dossier at this meeting.
• Cell-cultivated duck RP2241 – The Committee reviewed this CCP application for the second time, an ingredient intended to be added to a range of foods. The Committee reviewed an initial set of applicant responses covering assessment areas on identity, production process and proposed uses and intakes. The Committee will continue the review of the dossier at this meeting.
• Cell-cultivated chicken biomass RP2218 – The Committee reviewed this CCP application for the second time, an ingredient intended to be added to a range of foods. Information gaps to meet the requirements of the novel foods technical guidance were identified in identity, production process, composition, stability, proposed uses, specifications, ADME, toxicology, nutritional information and allergenicity. The Committee will continue the review of this dossier at the next available meeting.
• Draft cell-cultivated products guidance: Identity, production and microbiology- the Committee reviewed this FSA owned supplementary guidance for cell-cultivated products. The Committee feedback was taken on board and will be incorporated into the document before publication in the next few months.

5. Human-equivalent Lactoferrin Alpha RP2296

ACNFP/177/01

An application for human-equivalent lactoferrin α (heqLFα) was reviewed for the second time. The focus of this item was to complete the hazard identification stage of the assessment.

The identity of the novel food was assessed in detail at the previous meeting. Members agreed that more information is required in various aspects of the identity to further understand whether the novel food has the same properties as human lactoferrin found in breast milk.

Members considered the production process of the novel food. Additional information is required from the applicant on samples taken for key tests during production to verify whether they are representative of the novel food.

The composition of the novel food and its specification were also considered by the Committee. Further clarity is required on some microbiological tests performed to understand how microbial parameters are controlled. Amendments to the specification were suggested by the Committee to ensure this appropriately reflects the composition of the novel food in production.

Members considered the toxicological information provided by the applicant. Some clarifications are required on some of the sub-chronic toxicity results to support interpretation. Further rationale for why the applicant had performed specific immunotoxicity studies was recommended to be sought. Additionally, a literature review of human lactoferrin and its role as an auto-immune antigen was suggested, to understand whether there may be additional vulnerable groups to consider for this food.

To allow the information provided on safety to be put into context further information was needed on exposure to the novel food and its components. It was suggested data on the anticipated intake of the novel food compared with levels of human lactoferrin in breast milk be requested. The discussion highlighted the importance of quantitatively assessing exposure to iron released from the novel food alongside other dietary sources. Members also noted the need to consider vulnerable groups who may be more sensitive to iron exposure, such as those with haemochromatosis, and how any increased risks to these groups could be mitigated.

Action: The Secretariat to seek further information from the applicant and update the draft Committee Advice Document for review.

6. Draft cell-cultivated products guidance: Toxicology and growth media hazard identification guidance (reserved business)

ACNFP/177/02

Members reviewed the draft FSA owned guidance on CCPs in relation to toxicology and growth media intended to support applicants in considering the scientific data needed to demonstrate the safety of these novel foods. Discussion highlighted the potential for cells in culture to concentrate substances present in growth media and theoretical mechanisms whereby culture conditions could result in the accumulation of contaminants such as PFAS present in the media.

This is the third such guidance to be produced under the FSA CCP sandbox programme.

Members provided detailed feedback to ensure that the guidance was proportionate and as clear as possible on the nature of the potential toxicological hazards for CCP products and the nature of the data needed to provide assurance on safety. Amendments and simplifications were suggested to strengthen the guidance and improve usability. The FSA team will refine the guidance text ahead of publication in September 2026.

Action: CCP Secretariat team to refine the guidance before finalisation and publication.

7. Cell-cultivated duck biomass of duck origin RP2241 (reserved business)    

ACNFP/177/03

An application for a cell cultivated biomass of duck cell origin, as a food ingredient, was reviewed for a third time. Following the February 2026 meeting, the Secretariat had sought further information from the applicant. A tiered response approach had been agreed, to support applicants in presenting existing data whilst continuing to conduct and analyse additional studies to support progression on the assessment of CCPs for the GB market.

The Secretariat presented a second set of applicant responses covering assessment areas on identity, production process, composition, specifications, proposed uses and intakes, ADME, nutritional information, toxicological information and allergenicity of the novel food.

Information provided on the protein profile of novel food was discussed. It was agreed that the data would be reviewed for a final time by correspondence with select Members. However, initial review suggested this supported the identity of the novel food and understanding its characteristics and its similarity or not to meat. Members reiterated the importance of risk management consideration for this type of product with regards to consumer awareness of what the product is to ensure consumers are not misled.

Information on the monitoring and controls of the targeted undifferentiated cell type were reviewed. Genetic stability of the novel food was discussed with Members advising information on the criteria used by the applicant in their analyses be sought to aid evaluation.  The potential for epigenetic changes during cell culture was also discussed.  Members noted that factors such as culture conditions, including oxygen tension and the consistency of the cellular environment, may influence stability. The importance of appropriate process controls in order to minimise genetic and epigenetic drift was raised. It was noted that analysis to support regulatory review verses quality assurance procedures in production may be different and that would be appropriate.

Updated compositional data for the novel food and applicant interpretation, did not raise further queries. A few points of clarification on the methods used were recommended to be sought to verify the specification. Regarding the toxicological information, Members suggested further information on the Margin of Safety for the media residues be sought to ensure best practice, as identified in the supplementary guidance considered in the previous item.

Discussions were held with regards to novel exposure to animal derived proteins not commonly consumed to a significant degree in the diet and any implications this had on the allergenicity assessment. It was noted that allergenicity data had been supplied and this supported review. From the information supplied it was suggested that it may be beneficial for consumers to be advised that the product not be consumed raw to minimise any risk of de novo sensitisation and cross reactivity with similar proteins that are allergenic.

The Secretariat noted the areas to seek clarification with the applicant. They informed Members that information continues to be sought on early cell bank culture media components and their purity and constituents. This is in addition to further information from the updated stability study is expected to be available for next meeting to inform a detailed hazard review.

Action: The Secretariat to seek Members input by correspondence on the proteomic data.

Action: The Secretariat to seek clarification from the applicant and update the draft Committee Advice Document.

8. CBD-Group C RP450 (reserved business)

ACNFP/177/04

The Committee reviewed an application for Cannabis sativa extract for the first time. Discussions were held on issues surrounding the composition of the novel food and its specification. Members of the Committee advised that further information on the specification would be needed to ensure the food can be produced consistently.

The focus of the discussion was the toxicological data supplied on the novel food and how the data may be used to inform a safe level of use for the final novel food product. The discussion recognised that the novel food contains a range of cannabinoids and the information on potency and interaction of these substances in a mixture was limited. Approaches were considered for managing these limitations in the assessment, to make the best use of available data on the novel food and on CBD as a substance. An option to be further tested was identified. Further discussion is expected at the next available meeting.

Action: Secretariat to further review the draft Committee Advice Document with discussions to date, to support further review at the next available meeting.

9. CBD new group A RP1291(reserved business)

ACNFP/177/05

This item was not discussed in the meeting due to time constraints. 

Members input on the item had been sought prior to the meeting by the Secretariat. It was agreed that the Secretariat would provide an additional two-week commenting period by correspondence.

Action: Secretariat to seek further input and members comments via correspondence.

Action: If appropriate Secretariat to clear final text via Chair’s action.

10. Annual Report

ACNFP/177/06

The Committee was presented with the 2025-2026 ACNFP Annual Report. Members were overall satisfied with the contents and structure of the report, providing minor editorial comments. Due to time to constraints, it was agreed that the Secretariat would provide an additional two-week commenting period for correspondence.

Action: Secretariat to seek further input on the draft report text via correspondence.

11. Items for Information

11.1 Novel Foods Policy Update - Written

The Committee was provided with a written update on the issues under consideration regarding novel foods.

11.2 GM Policy Update - Nil Return

There was no update to share regarding GM.

11.3 SACS Update - Written

The Committee was provided with a written update on the activities of the different SACs.

11.4 Decision Panel Update - Written

The Committee was provided with a written update on the activities of the FSA Decision Panel.

Date of next meeting

The next ACNFP meeting will be held as a 2-day hybrid meeting on the 16th and 17th of September 2026.