Minutes of the AEJEG 14th December 2023 meeting

Meeting of the Committee at 09:30 on Thursday 14th December 2023 via Microsoft Teams  

Contents  

Announcements   

1. It was announced that Dr Olwenn Martin would be leaving the AEJEG at the end of the three-month notice period, the Chair, all the Members and Secretariat expressed thanks for her service. 
 

Interests   

2. No conflicts of interest were declared.   

Item 1: Apologies for absence   

3. Apologies were received from Dr Martin Rose, Dr Olwenn Martin was in attendance until 12pm, and Chara Tsoulli of the Secretariat was in attendance until 11.30am.  

Item 2: Minutes from the last meeting    

4. Members were presented with the minutes of the AEJEG meeting held on 19th October 2023.  

5. The minutes of the last meeting were agreed as accurate record, subject to minor editorial changes. 

Item 3: Matters arising: RP1330 – Discussion on Request for Information following the AEJEG October Meeting 

6. The Joint Expert Group on Additives, Enzymes and Other regulated Products (AEJEG) had been asked to provided comments via correspondence on the proposed wording of the request for information (RFI) for RP1330 following the meeting on 19th October 2023.  

7. Comments had been provided by a Member on question 2 of the Toxicology Testing section which warranted further discussion, the AEJEG revisited the RFI wording in order to reach agreement and clarity of the record. 

8. It was agreed that the RFI would be updated to include the discussion of this meeting, the Secretariat agreed they would amend these questions and circulate them to the AEJEG, prior to being sent to the Applicant. This item would be revisited upon receipt of the requested additional information. 

Item 4: RP733 Application for the authorisation of soy leghemoglobin derived from Pichia pastoris as a flavouring precursor for plant-based meat alternatives in the United Kingdom - AEJEG/2023/22 

9. Members had previously been presented with the application for the authorisation of soy leghemoglobin derived from Pichia pastoris as a flavouring precursor for plant-based meat alternatives in the United Kingdom (RP733) in meetings in; February, June, and October 2023.  

10. Members were invited to discuss specific areas of application RP733 highlighted by the secretariat including; exposure assessment, the thermal degradation study, 90-day, and 28-day studies. A request for further information (RFI) had been issued after the previous AEJEG meeting, this RFI was not discussed at this meeting. 

11. Members agreed that RP733 could not yet be concluded on as information from a previous RFI was still to be received, in addition to further information that was identified as necessary within this meeting. It was agreed that the Secretariat would prepare questions on areas of toxicological studies, thermal degradation, and product identity which would be circulated to the AEJEG, prior to being included in an RFI letter to be sent to the Applicant. This item would be revisited upon receipt of the requested additional information. 

Item 5: RP1245 Update Application for a change in the Steviol Glycoside specification in the United Kingdom to include a new manufacturing method for Steviol Glycosides including rebaudioside D – AEJEG/2023/23 

12. The AEJEG was invited to consider the response to the most recent request for further information (RFI) provided in connection with the application RP1245 for a change in the Steviol Glycoside specification in the United Kingdom to include a new manufacturing method for Steviol Glycosides including Rebaudioside D. 

13. The Secretariat explained that this was originally a tranche application, but EFSA approval had not been given surrounding concerns that the Panel could not exclude the possibility that residual DNA coding for the kanamycin resistance gene could remain in the final product. The Applicant had uploaded additional files to the FSA of PCR analysis to demonstrate the resistance gene was not present within the final product.  As new information had been provided to the FSA for their consideration, this had been presented to the AEJEG for the first time at the meeting on Friday the 8th of September 2023. 

14. Members reviewed the PCR analysis provided by the applicant, although members accepted the conclusions of the report provided, it was stated further PCR analysis would be required to alleviate any concerns. It was agreed that the Secretariat would prepare questions which would be circulated to the AEJEG, prior to being included in an RFI letter to be sent to the Applicant. This item would be revisited upon receipt of the requested additional information. 

Item 6: Any other business 

15. Members were reminded to provide comments on the toxicity section of application RP507 by the end of January 2024. 

16. The Secretariat informed Members that the Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) reviewed applications RP1112 and RP1466 in its meeting on Tuesday 12th December. Comments were received from the COT and these would shortly be shared via correspondence with Members for action. 

Date of next meeting

17. members were reminded that the next Smoke Flavourings Working Group meeting will be held on 16th January 2024, and the next AEJEG meeting will be held on 20th February 2024.