(7)In order to ensure continuity with the rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 258/97, one of the criteria for food to be considered a novel food should continue to be the absence of use for human consumption to a significant degree within the Union before the date of entry into force of that Regulation, namely 15 May 1997. Use within the Union should also refer to a use in the Member States irrespective of the dates of their accession.