Joint Decree of the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority validating the Regulation on organization and functioning of the National Commission for Novel Foods.

National Commission for Novel Foods shall perform the following tasks: (a) verify the validity of the consultation request of an economic operator in the food sector, to determine whether or not a food is included in the scope of this Regulation; (b) evaluate the valid consultation request of an economic operator in the food sector, to establish whether or not a food is included in the scope of this Regulation; (c) request the economic operator in the food sector, if necessary, to submit additional documents to clarify the issues under discussion; (d) express conclusion on to new food status of a foodstuff. After establishing the conclusion regarding the attribution of novel food status of a foodstuff, the Commission transmits this conclusion to the specialized structure of the Ministry of Health, which, in turn, informs within a maximum of 5 days the economic operator in the food sector, the other member states and the European Commission regarding this conclusion and makes available the related substantiation. The conclusion must contain the following data: (a) the name and description of the food in question; (b) a statement indicating whether the food in question is new, as defined in this Regulation, if it is not new or if it is not new only in food ingredients; (c) the reasons justifying the declaration referred to in the statement; (d) if the food is a new food, indicate the most appropriate category of food in which it falls. Economic operators in the food sector may request the agreement with the specialized structure within the Ministry of Health regarding the confidentiality of certain information transmitted. Confidentiality does not apply to the following information: (a) the name and address of the applicant; (b) the name and description of the food; (c) summary of the studies carried out, sent by the applicant; and (d) method or methods of analysis, if applicable.