Stuck in the sandbox: EU Biotech Act falls short on novel food innovation, says GFI Europe

The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) welcomed plans in the European Union’s proposed Biotech Act to expand regulatory guidance for innovators bringing new foods to market, but described the exclusion of novel foods from proposed regulatory sandboxes as a missed opportunity for food innovation.

The Biotech Act, unveiled by the European Commission in December, is designed to strengthen the EU’s global competitiveness in biotechnology. While its primary focus is on health and medical applications, the legislation also includes measures relevant to food technologies such as precision fermentation.

Precision fermentation has long been used to produce ingredients like rennet for cheese and is increasingly being applied to animal-free dairy proteins, egg alternatives, and sustainable fats and oils. Companies seeking approval to sell foods made using these techniques in the EU must submit applications to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which conducts detailed assessments of safety and nutritional value before products can be authorized across all 27 member states.

Under the proposed Act, EFSA would expand the pre-submission advice it offers to applicants, allowing startups to seek earlier guidance on the technical and scientific data required for novel food dossiers. The proposal also includes provisions to increase EFSA staffing to ensure this advisory function is adequately resourced.

GFI Europe said the changes could help address a persistent bottleneck for European food startups, which often face delays due to uncertainty around regulatory expectations rather than deficiencies in safety data.

However, the Commission excluded novel foods from plans to establish regulatory sandboxes, controlled and time-limited environments designed to allow regulators and innovators to test approaches and develop standards for emerging technologies. The Commission cited concerns that novel foods could trigger ethical or cultural objections among some consumer groups.

GFI Europe called for sandboxes to be extended across all food and feed categories, including novel foods, arguing that exclusion risks slowing innovation in precisely the areas where regulatory clarity is most needed.

Research conducted by GFI Europe in partnership with Accenture suggested consumer openness to fermentation-derived foods may be higher than policymakers assume. The study found that around half of consumers in France, Germany, and Spain were willing to try dairy and egg products made using precision fermentation if offered a free sample or prepared by someone else, while roughly one in five said they would incorporate such products into their regular diet.

Beyond regulation, GFI Europe also pointed to financing constraints as a structural barrier for European food biotech. The organization urged the Commission to build on proposals for a pilot investment facility supporting health biotechnology by including dedicated funding for food biotechnology in a second Biotech Act, expected in late 2026.

Such investment, GFI Europe argued, would help address Europe’s lack of large-scale fermentation infrastructure, which continues to hinder startups seeking to move from pilot production to commercial volumes.

Seth Roberts, Senior Policy Manager at GFI Europe, said the expanded guidance proposed under the Biotech Act would help innovators navigate Europe’s regulatory system while maintaining high safety standards.

“By expanding the regulatory guidance available to food innovators, the Biotech Act will play an important role in bringing new products to market in a way that meets the EU’s world-beating safety standards, helping to drive green growth, reduce our reliance on imports and boost competitiveness,” Roberts said.

“But the Commission’s decision to block novel foods from the sandbox rollout is a disappointing move that marks a missed opportunity to drive forward evidence-based regulation while providing a forum for open dialogue that can give consumers more confidence in new products.”