The company behind the Novel Food application for pulp from the baobab tree is preparing a second application to gain approval to market oil from the marula tree in food in the EU.
Indigenous to southern Africa, the marula tree is from the same family as the mango. Its fruit contains a stone with edible seeds that can be crushed to release oil with a similar fatty acid composition to olive oil, but with far greater stability.
PhytoTrade Africa chief executive Gus le Breton said: "Marula oil is really well-known in Africa, where it's used to baste meat because it's a great antioxidant and helps to preserve it in the heat.
"In Europe, it's better known in cosmetics. But there are also many culinary applications."