Europe not sweet on monk fruit
Luxembourg and Belgium rejected a shipment of Siraitia Grosvenorii at the border. Siraitia Grosvenorii, also known as monk fruit, luo han guo and longevity fruit, is an unauthorised novel food in Europe, meaning it does not have a record of significant safe consumption in the EU before 15 May 1997.
The product came from the US – where it has generally recognized as safe (GRAS) status and therefore is legal to market.
The fruit, native to southern China and northern Thailand, is used as low-calorie sweetener.