UK Regulators Publish Growth Media and Post-Approval Rules for Cultivated Meat Applicants

The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have released two new guidance documents for companies interested in selling cell-cultivated products in Great Britain. These documents provide guidance on assessing the safety of growth media components, toxicology, and market authorization rules for novel foods. This initiative is part of the Cell-Cultivated Products Sandbox Programme, which aims to make the path to market authorization clearer and more predictable for companies developing cell-cultivated products.

Companies seeking market authorization for cell-cultivated products are required to address hazards linked to growth media components in their regulatory submissions. The FSA has also released research on analytical methods and genetic drift in cell-cultivated products to assist applicants in preparing their market authorization applications. The Sandbox programme, funded through the Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund, aims to build a shared understanding of how food regulations apply to novel products and provide practical guidance for the sector, focusing on consumer safety and innovation in the emerging food market.