Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 258/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 January 1997 concerning novel foods and novel food ingredients^f1, and in particular Article 7 thereof,

Whereas:

On 28 February 2000 the company Viridis made a request to the competent authorities of France to place two leaf extracts from Lucerne (Medicago sativa) on the market as novel foods or novel food ingredients; on 28 April 2003 the competent food assessment body of France issued its initial assessment report. In that report they came to the conclusion that an additional assessment was required.

The Commission forwarded the initial assessment report to all Member States on 27 February 2004. Some Member States made additional comments.

On 12 October 2006, the company L.-R.D. (Luzerne — Recherche et Développement) took over the responsibility for the application; they reduced the scope of the application to a leaf extract from Lucerne and submitted responses to the initial assessment report and the additional questions raised by Member States.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) was consulted on 11 February 2008 and delivered its ‘Scientific Opinion of the Panel on Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies on a request from the European Commission on the safety of “Alfalfa protein concentrate as food” ’ on 13 March 2009.

In that opinion the EFSA came to the conclusion that the Lucerne (Medicago sativa) protein concentrate is safe for human consumption under the specified conditions of use.

On the basis of the scientific assessment, it is established that the Lucerne (Medicago sativa) protein concentrate complies with the criteria laid down in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 258/97.

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health,

HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION: