The Food Standards Agency (FSA), in partnership with Food Standards Scotland (FSS), has published the UK’s first safety guidance for cell-cultivated products (CCPs).

In March, the FSA and FSS launched a two-year cell-cultivated products Sandbox programme, which is focusing on animal cells only, with the aim of gathering evidence about CCPs and how they are made in order to inform future regulation of these products. The first pieces of safety guidance coming out of the programme have now been produced.

Food safety regulations must be applied

The FSA’s first document ‘Cell-cultivated products: guidance on classification and HACCP principles‘ covers classification and confirms that cell-cultivated products produced using animal cells, sometimes called ‘lab-grown meat’, are defined as products of animal origin. This means that businesses must apply existing food safety regulations during their production process. The second provides guidance on allergenicity assessments and how nutritional quality will be assessed as part of the approval process for all cell-cultivated products. 

The FSA notes that the guidance is not law and stated that it is intended for “all parties involved in the production of cell-cultivated products, originating from animal cells, for human consumption” and must be read in conjunction with the relevant legislation.

“The Sandbox programme is allowing us to fast-track our regulatory knowledge to remove barriers for emerging food technologies.”

Dr Thomas Vincent, deputy director of innovation at FSA, said: “Our new guidance provides clarity for businesses, helping them to understand and correctly demonstrate to UK food regulators how their products are safe.

“Specifically, this guidance ensures that companies have assessed potential allergenic risks and that they are nutritionally appropriate before they can be authorised for sale. Consumers can be reassured that these innovative new foods will meet the same rigorous safety standards as conventional foods.

“The Sandbox programme is allowing us to fast-track our regulatory knowledge to reduce barriers for emerging food technologies without compromising on safety standards.”