In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Paul Shapiro, best-selling author and CEO of The Better Meat Co., about the food safety and sustainability advantages offered by various novel alternative protein products, their current regulatory oversight, and hurdles they must overcome before being scaled up and widely accepted by governments and consumers.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has opened submissions for companies to express interest in a sandbox program to help ensure the safety of cell-cultivated foods.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has been awarded £1.6 million in funding to research cell-cultured food safety and facilitate application support for manufacturers before these products can enter the UK market.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) have published a joint scientific review on novel food sources and production systems, such as edible insects, cell-based foods, plant-based proteins, and other products.
The European Commission has updated its internal guidance document on the implementation of its regulations on the hygiene of food of animal origin, to clarify how cultivated meat, insects, and other foods for which no detailed requirements are established should be regulated in accordance with the provision’s requirements.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has signed Senate Bill 1084 into law, becoming the first U.S. state to ban the sale of cell-based meat (also known as “cultivated” or “lab-grown” meat).
The Alabama House of Representatives recently passed Senate Bill 23 banning the production or sale of cell-based meat products in the state. The bill has been returned to the Senate for concurrence.
West Virginia passed a bill known as the Truth in Food Labeling Act, restricting the language that can be used on labels for cell-based meats, plant-based meat alternatives, and other “analogue products,” such as insect-based foods. The bill awaits the Governor’s signature.
The School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024, sponsored by Senators Mike Rounds (R-SD) and Jon Tester (D-MT), would ban cell-cultivated meat from use in school meals.