UK Accelerates Cultivated Meat Approval Process

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The UK Food Standards Agency has launched a regulatory sandbox to fast-track lab-grown meat approval, with plans to complete safety assessments for two products within two years.

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Current regulatory filings for novel foods cost up to £500,000 and take over 2.5 years, creating a bottleneck the new program aims to fix.

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Eight companies will participate, including UK's Hoxton Farms and international players like BlueNalu (USA) and Mosa Meat (Netherlands).

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The UK is playing catch-up as Singapore, the US, and Israel have already approved cultivated meat products for human consumption.

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Cultivated meat hit UK shelves in February, but only as dog treats produced by London-based startup Meatly.

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Cell-cultivated products could help the UK meet climate targets by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, and land requirements compared to conventional farming.

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Despite progress, consumer acceptance remains a hurdle, with some UK citizens expressing unease about lab-grown meat products.

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FSA Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Robin May emphasized "safe innovation" as the core principle guiding the regulatory program.

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The government has invested £15 million in the National Alternative Protein Innovation Centre as part of its sustainable food transition strategy.

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Jim Mellon of Agronomics warns the sandbox will only succeed if the FSA receives adequate funding to complete assessments quickly.

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