The rapid rise of plant-based meat alternatives means that knowledge of the food safety risks of these products is still limited. In particular, microbial growth and inactivation kinetics is not well understood. Additionally, consumers face a learning curve in understanding how to safely handle plant-based meat alternatives. 

On November 16, the Italian Chamber of Deputies voted to pass a law that would ban the sale of cultivated meat in the country.

Following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) premarket approval of a cultured chicken meat product from UPSIDE Foods (also known as “cell-based” or “lab-grown” meat), U.S. and Chinese food safety regulatory officials conferred in an online event on the global adoption of cultivated meat and other innovative foods.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released three new documents discussing the terminologies, production process, and regulatory frameworks for cell-based foods (also known as “cultivated foods,” “lab-grown foods,” or “cultured foods”).