Once the stuff of sci-fi novels, food grown in a laboratory could be approved for human consumption in the UK within two years.
Companies in the UK have already been producing meatballs, animal fat and other foods in laboratories, but have complained about the difficulties in getting them approved by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
However, the government department has now said a team of scientists and regulatory experts will begin gathering “rigorous scientific evidence” about the products and how they are made.
The FSA added that it is committed to completing a “fully safety assessment” of two lab-produced foods which would allow them to be sold in the UK within the next two years.
How the sausages are made
The foods, which include burgers, steaks, sausages and salmon, are developed from tiny animal cells by scientists working in chemical plants.
They are known as cell-cultivated products (CCPs) and are made without using traditional farming methods such as rearing livestock.
Lab-grown meats therefore have strong environmental credentials because their production doesn’t require huge amounts of land and the greenhouse gas emissions resulting from livestock farming are reduced.
Scientists have also reportedly suggested altering the nutritional contents of cell-cultured meat so that it could be healthier than the animal product.
Farmers’ fears
However, some say the development of CCPs marks another move away from natural foodstuffs at a time when there is already concern about the consumption of ultra-processed foods.
And some animal farmers fear lab-grown meats pose yet another threat to their livelihoods.
Singapore, Israel and pockets of the US have approved cultivated meat for human consumption, but the UK has so far only allowed it in pet food.
This is despite the UK being one of the leaders in the field of producing CCPs.
Announcing its “pioneering programme for cell-cultivated products” on Monday, the FSA said eight companies that produce lab-grown foods will be involved in the programme.
Hoxton Farms, Roslin Technologies and Uncommon are the three UK-based companies that will take part.
The other five are BlueNalu from the US, Mosa Meat from the Netherlands, Gourmey and Vital Meat from France and Vow from Australia.
Vegetables can also be produced in a lab through cell-cultivation but the companies involved in the programme focus on either meat or seafood.
The FSA programme comes months after the UK’s innovation agency, UKRI, dished out £15m to the newly-formed National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre (NAPIC) in August.
Read more:
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A solution for ‘bad vegetarians’?
In 2023, Sky News climate reporter Victoria Seabrook – a self-confessed “bad vegetarian” – signed a disclaimer to try pork meatballs that had been produced in a lab by Oxford-based start-up Ivy Farm.
She was interested in whether cell-cultivated meat would provide a good alternative to sometimes indulging in the real thing.
After devouring one of the lab-grown products, she said: “The cultivated meatball has an authentically crispy exterior, oozes fatty juices and chews the same way as pork. It smells like cooked meat too.
“The only difference is that the normal meatball has a slightly stronger flavour, which could be due to the fact it is a little larger, so juicier.”
Commenting on the programme announced today, Professor Robin May, chief scientific adviser at the FSA, said “safe innovation” was at its heart.
“By prioritising consumer safety and making sure new foods, like CCPs are safe, we can support growth in innovative sectors. Our aim is to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of new food, while maintaining the highest safety standards.”
Lord Patrick Vallance, science minister, 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.”
Jim Mellon, executive chairman of Agronomics, a company which invests in firms which produce cell-cultivated food, said: “It’s great to see the UK making another positive step forward in becoming a leader in the cell-cultivated sector… However the (programme) will only be considered a success if the FSA also receives the support and funding to complete its assessments within faster timelines.
“Without this speed, it risks losing out on creating a competitive homegrown industry which can power low-carbon economic growth, boost food security, and ensure the UK becomes a leader in net-zero within the food industry.”
