The Food Standards Agency (FSA) was awarded £1.4 million to support a new innovation hub as part of the Regulatory Innovation Office’s (RIO) mission to promote a pro-innovation regulatory system.
The funding was awarded to FSA by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to “develop and expand specialist expertise in regulating innovative technologies”.
Precision fermented foods, which use an advanced form of traditional fermentation, will be the focus of the new funding. This technique uses new technology to create specific ingredients, including proteins, sugars and fats.
FSA said the new hub will protect consumers by making sure these new foods are safe before they can be sold, as well as giving greater clarity on regulatory requirements to innovators and investors. The hub will bring together the FSA’s existing work on novel foods and food created through genetic technology.
Specifically, the funding will enable the FSA to:
- Boost its scientific capacity to risk assess these innovative products
- Provide greater regulatory clarity to industry on how to gain market authorisation in Great Britain alongside Food Standards Scotland, including through a new business-focused guidance hub
- Support wider innovation in food through enhanced regulatory capacity on the most innovative products.
Professor Susan Jebb, chair of the FSA, said: “We’re pleased to secure this additional funding to make the risk assessment of innovative products swifter, without compromising on food safety.
“There is growing interest in the potential of new technologies to increase the UK’s food security and provide affordable, healthy, and sustainable food.
“This important new project will give innovators greater support in navigating the regulations under which we assess if food is safe, making the system more efficient and enabling safe products to come to the market more quickly.
“The public can remain confident that the foods they choose are safe and the UK economy can benefit from business investment, so as a nation we will be able to take early advantage of the potential these technologies offer.”
Science Minister Lord Vallance said: “Breakthroughs in precision fermentation have the potential to grow our economy and improve food security by reducing reliance on imports, and the Regulatory Innovation Office will help to bring innovations like these to market safely and efficiently.
“We’re streamlining regulation to get safe, innovative products onto shelves faster, while maintaining high standards and strengthening the UK’s position in food technology – in turn supporting the Government’s Plan for Change.”
