European Union
Review of comments on EFSA Fee Proposals
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has now published a review of comments received in response to its public consultation on the advisability and feasibility of EFSA charging fees for processing authorization files. 51 response were received, 16 from European Union Member States.

The majority of Member States were not in principle opposed to a fee system, but were concerned about the feasibility of such a scheme, the need to safeguard EFSA's independence, and the creation of additional administrative and financial burdens for small and medium enterprises.

The majority of stakeholders were entirely opposed to the introduction of fees, or considered that they should only by charged where a market authorization is granted to a specific authorization holder.

The main difficulties foreseen by most respondents were:

• Authorization procedures for certain foods and substances are mainly aimed at giving general approvals for the benefit of all operators and provide little proprietary data protection
• As a consequence of the above, the complexity of establishing a fee system given the difficulty identifying those liable to pay fees.

The results of the review will now be fed into EFSA's reflection on the next steps to be taken.

United Kingdom
FSA seeks views on lycopene application
A Spanish company has applied to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) for approval for lycopene in a cold water dispersable form as a novel food ingredient, for use in a variety of food products.

The application is similar to the use of lycopene in an oil suspension form which was authorised as a novel food in 2006. The FSA is now seeking comment on this new application.

United States
FDA approves health claim for isomaltulose
A health claim for the non-cariogenic effect of the carbohydrate sweetener isomaltulose has recently been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

It is understood that the FDA approval for the sweetener, which recently also obtained novel foods approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand, will permit claims such as 'may reduce the risk of dental caries' to be made.