UK creates cultivated meat regulatory sandbox to boost innovation
The UK government has announced that it will create Europe’s first cultivated meat regulatory sandbox to improve the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) scientific knowledge about this food.
8 October 2024
The UK government has announced that it will create Europe’s first cultivated meat regulatory sandbox to improve the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) scientific knowledge about this food.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has announced the £1.6 million (€1.9 million) funding for the FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) – which must conduct a rigorous safety assessment of any cultivated meat product before it can be sold in the UK.
The new funding will enable the FSA and FSS to make informed decisions about product safety and guide companies on how they can effectively demonstrate that their products and processes are safe, in line with the UK’s existing novel foods regulatory framework.
New staff will be recruited to work on the sandbox, who will provide support to companies planning to submit applications to sell cultivated meat in the UK. They will also work closely with scientists to produce detailed guidance on key questions such as hygiene considerations for production facilities and how cultivated meat products should be labelled.
The FSA’s sandbox will be the first of its kind in Europe and follows South Korea’s decision to create a regulatory innovation zone to support the development of novel food regulations and the scale-up of cultivated meat production processes.
Nonprofit and think tank the Good Food Institute Europe has welcomed the news, which it says could help grow the UK’s cultivated meat sector and ensure consumers have confidence in the safety and nutritional quality of this food.
However, it stressed that while the sandbox is likely to improve the regulatory pathway for cultivated meat, it is not a solution to the long-term funding challenges facing the FSA’s regulated product service – responsible for authorising new food products – which ministers must address in the forthcoming multi-year spending review.
How is cultivated meat regulated?
Cultivated meat – which aims to deliver the same chicken, pork and seafood that people enjoy today, but made in fermentors instead of by farming animals – must go through a thorough risk assessment and be authorised by ministers before being sold in British restaurants and supermarkets. It has been authorised for sale in countries including the United States, but not in the UK, where the FSA is currently reviewing at least four applications.
UK company Meatly announced earlier this year that its cultivated chicken pet food had been cleared for sale under a separate process overseen by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.
The FSA has frequently stated that its regulated product system is underresourced, with authorisations of new food and animal feed taking an average of 2.5 years although the statutory aim is 17 months.
What is a regulatory sandbox?
Sandboxes are controlled environments usually running for limited periods that enable businesses, academics and regulators to collaborate on designing new rules, standards and guidance.
Similar schemes have been introduced by other UK regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority, enabling firms to ensure consumer protection safeguards are built into new products, and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, helping companies safely develop medical devices.
The announcement of a regulatory sandbox follows the FSA’s recent confirmation that the UK government will enact initial reforms to the way a wide range of regulated products – including some alternative proteins – are brought to market.
Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Advisor at the FSA said: “Ensuring consumers can trust the safety of new foods is one of our most crucial responsibilities. The CCP sandbox programme will enable safe innovation and allow us to keep pace with new technologies being used by the food industry to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of safe foods.”
Linus Pardoe, Senior UK Policy Manager at the Good Food Institute Europe, said: “This announcement sends a clear message that the new government wants to capitalise on the strong investments made in British cultivated meat research and innovation over recent years by bringing products to market in a way that upholds the UK’s gold standard safety regulations.
“Cultivated meat could play a key role in boosting food security, driving growth and helping us hit our climate targets. The sandbox is a welcome measure, but to fully realise the potential of cultivated meat, ministers must also provide a long-term boost to the FSA’s budget, enabling regulators to complete robust risk assessments within statutory timeframes.”