A European court has actually backed a choice by Greek authorities not to authorize an item developed to avoid Listeria in specific items.
The case includes Listex P100, an item from Dutch business Micreos, planned for usage versus Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat food of animal origin. The court ruled that the EU Commission need to authorize such an item.
A Greek court asked for an initial judgment in late 2022 in the event in between Micreos Food Safety and the Hellenic Food Authority (EFET).
EFET declined to license Listex P100 for the Greek market, as the EU Commission has actually not authorized. The phage-based item is a spray created to avoid the existence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat (RTE) food of animal origin, such as fish, dairy, and meat items.
Long-running case
Following casual contact given that 2007, Micreos Food Safety used to the EU Commission in 2015 to have Listex P100 authorized as a decontaminant for RTE food of animal origin.
A draft guideline licensing usage was ready however never ever authorized. Due to the fact that of an absence of assistance from the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, the EU Commission officially notified Micreos in February 2018 that it did not mean to pursue the approval procedure. In the very same month, Micreos stated Listex was not a decontaminant however was a processing help under EU guideline. In April, the EU Commission reiterated its position of not continuing the approval procedure.
A grievance by Micreos to the European Ombudsman was declined in March 2019. In August, Micreos went to the General Court of the European Union, however an application for interim procedures was dismissed.
In April 2020, Micreos requested approval to position Listex P100 on the Greek market as a processing help for RTE food of animal origin. EFET dismissed the application in June 2020 since of the lack of a clear legal structure relating to processing help and appointments kept in mind in a 2016 EFSA clinical viewpoint on the category and safe usage of Listex P100. In September, Micreos brought an action to annul this choice at the referring court.
Listex has actually been validated as GRAS (usually thought about safe) by the FDA and USDA. It can be utilized as a processing help in numerous foods in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.
EU Commission approval needed
Micreos stated Listex is for usage outside slaughterhouses in the lasts of the production procedure, after the thermal processing of food, once it has actually been decontaminated and is prepared for cutting and product packaging. The item is not planned to get rid of contamination however to avoid it if Listeria monocytogenes surpasses the allowed limits.
The referring court thought Micreos Food Safety’s action should be dismissed however asked the EU Court of Justice to assist translate EU policies.
In the EU, food services can not utilize any compound besides water to eliminate surface area contamination from items of animal origin unless the EU Commission has actually authorized it.