The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a two-year research programme, which is intended to lead to the approval of cell-based meat products.
The government regulator said today (10 March) that the programme, funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund, will “make sure cell-cultivated products (CCPs) are safe for consumers before they’re sold, whilst supporting innovation in the sector”.
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Meat created in a laboratory from animal cells using a growth medium has thus far only been approved for sale in Singapore, the US and Israel, although dog food made from meat that was grown in such a way has now gone on sale in the UK.
The FSA said a team of scientists and regulatory experts will now begin work on the two-year programme, collaborating with academic bodies, the CCP industry and trade organisations.
“Their aim is to gather rigorous scientific evidence about CCPs and how they are made, to inform how the FSA and Foods Standards Scotland (FSS) regulate these products,” it said.
CCP businesses participating in the programme are Hoxton Farms (UK), BlueNalu (US), Mosa Meat (The Netherlands), Gourmey (France), Roslin Technologies (UK), Uncommon Bio (UK), Vital Meat (France) and Vow (Australia).
The FSA said the evidence will enable the FSA to assess CCP applications more efficiently and make sure they are safe before they can be sold to consumers.
It said it is committed to completing the full safety assessment of two CCPs within the next two years.
Professor Robin May, chief scientific advisor at the FSA, said: “By supporting the safe development of cell-cultivated products, we’re giving businesses the confidence to innovate and accelerating the UK’s position as a global leader in sustainable food production.
“This work will not only help bring new products to market faster, but strengthen consumer trust, supporting our Plan for Change and creating new economic opportunities across the country.”
Science minister Lord Vallance said the eight CCP companies which have been selected to participate in the programme were “chosen through a rigorous selection process to represent the diverse, international range of technologies, processes, and ingredients used in CCP production”.
He said the FSA would also be working closely with academic partners including the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) led by the University of Bath, the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC), and the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein. Representing the broader industry are NGO The Good Food Institute Europe (GFI) and the trade body Alternative Proteins Association (APA).
The FSA has faced some criticism for involving companies working in this area in regulatory issues.
Pat Thomas, director of the campaign group Beyond GM, posted on social media: “A regulator’s job is to regulate, not to aid marketing campaigns or be the paid mouthpiece of industry.”
Lord Vallance told UK broadcaster the BBC: “It is not deregulation, it is pro-innovation regulation.
“It is an important distinction because we are trying to get the regulation aligned with the needs of innovation and reduce some of the bureaucracy and duplication.”
In 2020, Singapore became the first country to authorise the sale of cell-cultivated meat for human consumption, followed by the US three years later and Israel last year.
However, Italy and a number of US states have introduced bans.
Even where cell-based meat has been approved, products are not widely available to consumers. The cost of producing protein in this way has thus far proved prohibitive – largely because of the cost of the growth medium needed to make the cells develop.
This has made it difficult for companies operating in the field to scale up production.
