madam president on fifteen january two thousand and eight the commission submitted its proposal on novel foods to the council and the european parliament with the aim of simplifying the administrative burden for food-business operators when requesting pre-market approval for innovative food products
the current proposal maintains the principle of the need for pre-market authorisation for innovative products to reassure consumers that new breeding or new production techniques are safe for humans and animals and respect the environment and consumers interests
the proposal streamlines and speeds up the authorisation process through a centralised food safety evaluation by efsa and sets precise deadlines at every stage of the procedure
it also includes an improved safety assessment tailor-made to different types of foods thereby allowing safe traditional food from third countries to enter the eu more easily
i would like to welcome the work of parliament whose report addresses major issues concerning the development of a safe food sector
i would particularly like to confirm my support for the following principles the need for a definition of engineered nanomaterials and the clarification that all such products require a case-by-case authorisation by the eu institutions and the confirmation of the fact that food products from cloned animals are novel foods and therefore cannot be placed on the market without having been assessed by efsa and authorised through a regulatory procedure
i look forward to hearing your opinions on these sensitive issues and would like to thank the rapporteur ms liotard and the shadow rapporteurs for their valuable work on this important report
