Turck, D.Bohn, T.Cámara, M.Castenmiller, J.de Henauw, S.Jos Gallego, Ángeles MencíaMaciuk, A.Mangelsdorf, I.Mcardle, H. J.McNulty, B.Hirsch-Ernst, K. I.EFSA Panel on Nutrition2025-09-012025-09-012025Turck, D., Bohn, T., Cámara, M., Castenmiller, J., de Henauw, S., Jos Gallego, Á.M.,...,EFSA Panel on Nutrition, (2025). Safety of Grain and Flour from Perennial Intermediate Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) as a Novel Food Pursuantto Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. EFSA Journal, 23 (6), e9467.https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9467.1831-4732https://hdl.handle.net/11441/176557Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition,Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on grainand flour from perennial intermediate wheatgrass (IWG) (Thinopyrum intermedium)as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The NF, composedprimarily of carbohydrates, proteins and water, is produced by cultivating the IWGplant and subsequently processing it to yield either grains or flour. The targetpopulation proposed by the applicant is the general population and the NF is pro-posed as a food ingredient in several food products. Considering the nutritionalprofile of the NF and the proposed conditions of use, its consumption is considerednot nutritionally disadvantageous, and the Panel considers that no toxicologicalstudies are required on this NF. The microbiological analyses for several batchesof the NF revealed high microbial counts regarding total aerobic microbial count,Enterobacteriaceae, yeasts and moulds, highlighting excessive variability in thehygiene conditions along the production process. The NF has the same potentialas wheat, barley and rye to trigger IgE-mediated allergic reactions in cereal-allergicindividuals and/or adverse reactions in individuals with coeliac disease under theproposed conditions of use. The Panel notes that, due to the high microbial loadsobserved in both IWG grain and flour batches, the microbiological quality of theNF is compromised. The potential presence of Enterobacteriaceae and opportun-istic pathogen Pantoea species, such as P. agglomerans, and further released com-pounds could pose safety concerns. Moreover, the provided stability data do notsupport a 12-month shelf-life for the NF. Based on the available data, the Panelconcludes that the safety of the NF, grain and flour from perennial intermediatewheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) cannot be established.application/pdf14 p.engAttribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/Novel foodPerennial intermediate wheatgrassPlantSafetyThinopyrum intermediuminfo:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2025.9467