We get a lot of enquiries about the status of Ketone Salts and Ketone Esters in the UK and EU and why we stopped selling them in this region in 2016.
We would love to make these products available to you in the EU/ UK. Unfortunately this is not legally possible currently.
“Ketone Salts” and “Ketone Esters” have been classified as Novel Foods in the EU. This means that it is a new food ingredient that has not been verified to be safe for consumption.
This is a default status given to anything new to the EU/ UK prior to 15 May 1997. Both ketone salts and esters fit this description.
Because of this both Ketone Salts and Ketone Esters have to go through a novel foods application and safety assessment process before they can be sold in the UK/ EU.
Ketone Esters are in the middle of this ‘safety process’. Professor Kieran Clarke of the company TΔS (TdeltaS) started this application prior to 2014 (see here for application). However, they have not yet been successful with this process, providing an example of how long, and costly the process can be.
The UK’s Foods Standards Agency routinely polices and sends “cease and desist” letters to any sellers of Ketone Salts or Ketone Esters in the UK and EU due to their “Novel Food” status.
Marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay also police and remove any novel foods to protect themselves from litigation by the EU/ UK governments.
If you’d like to stay up to date on how we’re approaching this, please sign up for our keto updates.
For further information about the status of Ketone Salts and Ketone Esters in the UK/ EU, you can contact Novel Foods at the Food Standards Agency directly via the following contact details:
Ruth Willis
Senior Novel Food Policy Analyst
Radiological and Novel Food Policy
Food Standards Agency
Aviation House, 125 Kingsway, London, WC2B 6NH
www.food.gov.uk
Email:
Phone: 020 7276 8716