Monk fruit opportunities open up in UK and EU after regulatory U-turn

03 Jul 2024 --- Food standard agencies in England, Wales and Scotland recently confirmed that monk fruit decoctions, a naturally sweet low-calorie food, are not novel. The change of stance now permits their use as an ingredient in food and beverage products sold in the UK, while there is also an EU-wide effect.

In an in-depth interview with Food Ingredients First, David Thorrold, general manager of sales & marketing at Monk Fruit Corp, dives into the company’s seven-year process which has resulted in monk fruit decoctions no longer being classified as a novel food.

Change of heart
A decoction is a product made by combining plant material with hot water. The water-soluble compounds in the plant material are dissolved in the water, making an extraction solution.

Monk fruit decoctions are traditionally made from whole monk fruit and are found in Chinese supermarkets all over the UK and EU. However, until now, monk fruit decoctions had not been verified as a non-novel food by the UK or an EU member state food regulator and had not been approved as a novel food by the UK food regulator or EFSA. As a result, monk fruit decoctions could not legally be on the market in the UK and EU, Thorrold highlights.

“The UK FSA, in response to a 2022 submission by Monk Fruit Corp, originally concluded that monk fruit decoctions were novel food because, in the FSA’s opinion, there was not sufficient evidence to show that monk fruit decoctions had been consumed to a significant degree in the UK before May 1997.”

“Monk Fruit Corp applied for a judicial review of this decision in December 2022.  In March 2024, the High Court gave judgment in favor of Monk Fruit Corp. The Judge ordered the FSA to provide a new decision.”

David Thorrold, general manager of sales & marketing at Monk Fruit CorpThis concluded that monk fruit decoctions had been consumed significantly in the UK before May 1997 and were, therefore, not novel food. As a result, monk fruit decoctions can now be used as an ingredient in F&B products sold in the UK.

Unlocking monk fruit
Thorrold further highlights how the ruling allows for monk fruit decoctions to be used as a naturally sweet, low-calorie, clean label ingredient pegged as a 100% natural option to the sugar-reduction tool kit. They contribute sweetness while adding minimal sugar and calories, owing to the sweet mogroside molecule which occurs naturally in the fruit. 

Monk fruit decoctions have advantages compared to food additive sweeteners, including not having an e-number. 

“We believe this will have a significant positive impact on F&B companies and consumers in the UK and EU. Over 8,000 F&B products containing monk fruit have been launched globally since 2010, with over 6,000 products launched in the US. Monk fruit decoctions are approved as a food in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Mexico and Israel.”

“They are also considered a traditional food in China, Japan and several Asian countries. Monk fruit has gained a reputation with formulators and consumers as the best-tasting natural, low-calorie option for sugar reduction, without the bitter after-taste associated with other products made from plant sources.”

“This makes monk fruit a very versatile ingredient for sugar reduction which is why monk fruit is now being used by many of the world’s largest F&B companies including Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Danone, KraftHeinz and many others.”

Thorrold says that the top categories for monk fruit use currently are non-alcoholic beverages, sports nutrition, supplements, cereals, desserts and ice cream, dairy and baked goods.

“Now that monk fruit decoctions have been verified as a non-novel food; we expect to see monk fruit decoctions being widely used in the UK and EU in these categories by companies looking to reduce sugar and formulate great-tasting better-for-you F&B options.”

How does the ruling affect Europe?
Under UK and EU food regulations, for a food to be not novel (and thus able to be placed on the market in the UK and EU), there must have been consumption of that food to a significant degree in a current or former member state before May 1997. 

Desserts and ice creams are one of the top categories for monk fruit use, besides non-alcoholic beverages, supplements, cereals and more.There is a process under the UK and EU novel food regulations where if a food business operator is not certain about the novel food status of a food they can submit evidence of consumption of that food before May 1997 to a member state food regulator (or in the case of the UK to the UK food regulator) and request the food regulator to make a determination on its novel food status. 

“We applied to the UK FSA for a determination under that process. Now that the UK FSA has confirmed that there was significant consumption in the UK before May 1997, there is no longer any uncertainty as to the novel food status of monk fruit decoctions in the UK. They are confirmed as not novel food and may be used as a food ingredient in F&B sold in the UK.”

“However, there is now also certainty about the novel food status of monk fruit decoctions in the EU, as the UK was an EU member state at the time when a history of consumption must be demonstrated. Accordingly monk fruit decoctions are not novel food in the EU and may be used as a food ingredient in foods and beverages sold in the EU.”    

 Although the UK FSA decision is technically only a ruling regarding the novel food status of monk fruit decoctions in the UK, in practice, it has an EU-wide effect.

Monk Fruit Corp — which has partnered with Tate & Lyle for over a decade to serve key markets with monk fruit extracts and juice products — has developed a new commercial product for the UK and EU that complies with the specifications.

By Gaynor Selby