Biotechnology plays an essential role in the delivery of EU goals for competitive, healthy, resilient and sustainable economies and societies, specifically in the food and feed sectors, as recognized by the European Commission in its Communication “Building the future with nature: Boosting Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing in the EU”. The Communication states that biotechnology can help reduce the EU’s external dependencies including in the agri-food sector, contribute to food and feed with improved environmental and health traits, and reduce the overall environmental footprint of agri-food production systems, making them more resilient and supportive to reach the EU’s climate neutrality goal.

However, innovative biotechnologies and products still encounter regulatory obstacles when entering the EU market, which may delay the launch of new products, increase the costs involved in the regulatory approval of such products or expose them to potential legal uncertainty, when they have already been authorized.

EuropaBio welcomes the European Commission’s proposal on a Food and Feed Safety Omnibus as a positive step to address some of these issues, simplifying the regulatory framework without compromising the safety of the products placed on the market and the protection of consumers.

For the full consultation response and accompanying documents, please download the document below or visit the European Commission website here.