Touchi novel foods approval becomes EU law

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) novel foods approval for the fermented black bean extract called Touchi has been writ into law by the European Commission.

Submitted by Japanese firm CBC Ltd via Cantoc International, the approval relates to hot water extraction of small soybeans (Glycine max) fermented with Aspergillus oryzae and has a dosage of 0.3g Touchi extract to be consumed with every meal of the day, with an average intake of 0.9-1.2g per day and maximum intake of 4.5g per day.

EFSA found: “The documentation on the safety of Touchi extract is based mainly on the history of the source of the novel food, on the significant human consumption of traditional fermented black bean products in and outside of Europe, data on the production process and on the compositional similarity between fermented black beans and Touchi extract.”

“Toxicological and clinical data provide limited evidence for the safety of Touchi extract and do not raise concerns.”

The document can be found here.