JACA Unveils Blueprint for Cultivated Meat Safety & Regulation in Japan, Calls for Expert Feedback
The Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture (JACA) has released an extensive report, in English, analyzing international trends in the safety and regulatory assessment of cultivated meat. JACA, which works on policy-making to bring cell-based foods to the Japanese market, has plans to propose safety assessment criteria for Japanese regulatory authorities to continue building the country’s Novel Foods framework. With this report, the group is taking proactive steps to align Japan’s …
Singapore Proposes Revision of Novel Food Approvals with New “Defined Food” Category
The Singapore Food Agency (FSA) and the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) recently issued a new draft, the Food Safety and Security Bill (FSSB), proposing a new category, “Defined Food,” and new requirements for pre-market approval of these foods or ingredients. Under the FSSB, novel foods would be considered a sub-category of “Defined Food,” along with genetically modified (GM) foods, and insect-like species, all subject already to pre-market approval but …
South Korea Designates Regulation-Free Zone for Cultivated Meat to Boost Production & Safety
The South Korean government has announced the designation of a special regulatory-free zone in Gyeongsangbuk-do province to accelerate the production and commercialization of cultivated meat in the country. The zone, officially named the Gyeongbuk Cell-Cultivated Foods Regulatory-Free Special Zone (RFSZ), aims to address the legal obstacles facing the development of cell culture food products, establish global standards for these novel foods, and develop a skilled workforce for the cultivated meat …
Bene Meat Technologies Signs Open Letter Urging the EU to Review Italy’s Cultivated Meat Safety Concerns
Czech cultivated meat company Bene Meat Technologies has sent an open letter to the European Commission asking it to review Italy’s ban on cultivated meat due to safety concerns and its compliance with EU law. The letter states that Italy’s ban on the technology was based on unfounded scientific claims about its safety, disregarding the EU’s standard food safety assessment mechanisms while violating the common market principle, posing a threat to …
New Report Finds 42% of Japanese Consumers Would Try Cultivated Meat, While 58% Are Not Familiar with Cell-Based Foods
APAC Society for Cellular Agriculture (APAC-SCA) has released a new report revealing that 42% of Japanese consumers are open to trying cultivated meat or seafood products, “as long as they have been proven safe.” The report Prospect of Cultivated Meat & Seafood in Japan was commissioned by APAC-SCA and analyzed by Akira Igata, Project Lecturer at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo and Director of the …
Food Safety Risks in Cultivated Meat Are Similar to Those of Conventional Meat, Concludes Mark Post For FAO Report
The FAO/WHO Scientific Advice Programme has officially launched a new publication entitled Food Safety Aspects of Cell-Based food. The report offers accurate information and scientific knowledge on cell-based food production to authorities in low- and middle-income countries, to enable them to take any necessary regulatory actions. Furthermore, they can benefit from the experiences of more developed countries by learning from their good practices in this field, explains FAO. Dr. Mark …
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization Assesses Safety and Regulations of Cultivated Meat
The United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is now assessing important food safety and regulatory concerns regarding cultivated meat. The organization released several documents discussing food safety aspects of cultivated meat products, including language and terminologies, common production processes, and regulatory frameworks. Labeling and terminology The FAO points out that since cultivated meats represent an emerging commodity, the terminology used to describe its processes and products remain inconsistent. A …
Esco Aster Becomes First Cultivated Meat Producer to Gain ISO 22000 Food Safety Cert
Singaporean company Esco Aster has received the stringent ISO 22000 food safety certification for its cultivated meat manufacturing facility. The company states it is the first in the sector to be awarded the certification. In September 2021, the company became the first manufacturing platform to obtain regulatory approval to develop and produce cultivated meat at commercial scale as a contract development and manufacturing organization. Scaling up Esco Aster has developed …