The Food Standards Agency published a consultation on 16 regulated food product applications on 21 September 2026. Responses are due by 23:59 on 16 November 2026. A company planning a product for Great Britain should read the list as a set of applications and proposed authorisation terms under consideration, not as sixteen ingredients newly cleared for sale.
What the number sixteen actually counts
The FSA describes applications for six new novel-food authorisations and modifications to the authorisation of nine novel foods; two applications concern the same novel food. The consultation assigns separate application references and annexes. The total therefore cannot tell a product developer which food categories, specifications, maximum levels or labelling conditions apply to any particular ingredient.
Under the arrangements described by the FSA, a business seeking to place a new novel food on the Great Britain market, or to alter the specifications or conditions of use of an already authorised novel food, must submit an application under the relevant assimilated legislation. An existing authorisation for a food does not automatically extend to a new use category or a production-strain-specific specification under consultation.
Annex A provides a concrete example. Application RP1751 concerns 2'-Fucosyllactose, or 2'-FL, produced by a specified derivative strain of E. coli K-12 (DH1). It seeks an additional use in food supplements for infants and removal of a condition about its ratio to another human-identical milk oligosaccharide. The FSA also explains that the production-strain-specific specification sits within an existing 2'-FL authorisation rather than being a separately authorised novel food today. The proposed route would amend that authorisation and create a separate specification. Seeing “2'-FL authorised” on a general list therefore does not answer whether this source and this additional use are authorised under the conditions currently in force.
Why assessment and proposed conditions are not the final decision
The documents in this process answer different questions. A safety assessment examines relevant hazards and exposure. A risk-management recommendation sets out proposed terms and other factors for consideration. The public consultation asks stakeholders to comment on safety, proposed conditions, labelling and other legitimate factors. After consultation, the FSA and Food Standards Scotland provide recommendations to the relevant ministers, who decide whether and on what terms an application is authorised.
Confusing these stages can lead to a premature formulation or label decision. A favourable safety assessment is not a market authorisation; a proposed category of use in an annex is not yet an operative condition. A company should retain both the current legal authorisation and the annex relating to its particular application, then check the final ministerial decision when available.
The application reference also tells the reader what kind of change is being sought. RP2155 concerns proposed maximum use levels for a particular source of 2'-FL in infant and follow-on formula, while RP2257 concerns a proposed change to the endotoxin limits in the specification for that source. These are different questions even though the ingredient name overlaps. For a formulation decision, the company needs to identify the production strain and its current specification, the intended food category, the present use level and the exact field each proposal would change. Neither annex is a substitute for an operative authorisation.
Geography and possible future alignment
The FSA notes that the UK Government is negotiating a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement with the EU. If an agreement enters into force, Great Britain rules and EU authorisations may become aligned in the manner ultimately agreed. This remains a future scenario. It should not be used as a substitute for the authorisation currently applicable to a product in Great Britain. Northern Ireland and EU routes also need their own checks rather than a single generic “UK/EU approved” label.
Northern Ireland illustrates why the route to market matters. The consultation notes that certain eligible prepacked retail goods may move under the Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme, subject to its conditions. It also states in relevant annexes that a GB authorisation by itself does not permit the novel food to be sold in Northern Ireland as an ingredient or for onward manufacture. A finished retail pack and a bulk ingredient for another manufacturer cannot be assessed from the same shorthand “GB authorised” entry.
For an ingredient appearing in this consultation, the useful working record is a chain from the actual ingredient and its production source to the application number, current authorisation, proposed change, intended food category and consumer group, followed by the eventual decision. Stakeholders may use the consultation to provide evidence and comments. A product launch decision must still rest on the authorisation and conditions in force for the intended market and use.
Primary source: FSA, Consultation on Market Authorisation of 16 Regulated Food Products September 2026. Checked 2 October 2026.
