Regulation 258/97, formally Regulation (EC) 258/97, was the European Union’s first dedicated law on novel foods and novel food ingredients. It required that foods and ingredients without a significant history of consumption in the EU before May 1997 undergo a safety assessment and authorisation before they could be marketed. The rule caught products of new production processes, foods from unfamiliar sources such as exotic fruits and algae, and ingredients with intentionally modified molecular structures. Applicants submitted dossiers to a member state, with EFSA-style scientific evaluation before the Commission decided. The regulation has since been replaced by a newer novel foods regulation, but it established the principle that innovation in food must prove its safety before reaching consumers, a principle that still governs the field.