Novel Food is defined as food that had not been consumed to a significant degree by humans in the EU before 1997. Novel Food must be authorized by the EU Commission and undergo a ‘pre-market safety assessment’ before it can be legally sold.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) declared CBD (Cannabidiol) as ‘Novel Food’, for which an authorization is required. UK Food Standard Agency (FSA) declared that CBD products must be compliant with new requirements regarding their Novel Food status.

The European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) represents the common interests of the hemp sector in Europe. EIHA’s Novel Food Consortium was created to submit joint Novel Food applications and share the safety assessment costs between its members.

EIHA partnered with Novatrace to develop a system for verifying that CBD products sold in the UK are sourced from EIHA Novel Food consortium members. UK food safety authorities have access to sector-wide traceability data and inspectors can scan QR codes on products to check their current status.