Two government agencies will team up to regulate the emerging market of lab-grown meat, the Trump administration announced Thursday.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service will share the regulation of the products, which scientists create by multiplying animal cells to mimic traditional chicken, pork, beef, and fish. The foods will need to be reviewed and approved by both agencies before they are allowed to hit grocery stores.
Under the agreement, FDA will oversee cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth. The USDA will then take it from there to oversee how the food is produced and how it is labeled. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, who is leaving his post in a month, uses the term “cell-cultured foods” to describe the products. The latest regulation is one he will have seen to completion before he steps down from his role.
The Trump administration held several meetings to hash out the differences over how the products should be regulated because the nascent foods didn’t fit neatly into the jurisdiction of either agency. The FDA oversees the safety of medicines made from human cells and tissues, as well as food additives, but the USDA has inspectors who visit meat facilities regularly to make sure they are meeting specific standards. Fish is is the hands of the FDA, with the exception of catfish, which fall to USDA.
“Collaboration between USDA and FDA will allow us to draw upon the unique expertise of each agency in addressing the many important technical and regulatory considerations that can arise with the development of animal cell-cultured food products for human consumption,” Frank Yiannas, FDA deputy commissioner for Food Policy and Response, said in a statement.
The traditional meat industry, which was concerned about the impact the new products would have on their business, lobbied the Trump administration to have the cultured foods fall under the jurisdiction of both agencies. The cultured food groups varied in their positions, with some preferring only to have FDA oversight out of concern for the government getting in the way of innovation, and others being open to a dual role.
Safety regulations for cell-based foods have yet to be issued, but they are likely to include standards about how to grow the tissue, how to sign off on its safety, and how to label it in a way that consumers know what they’re buying.
What to call the products has also been a sore spot for industry groups. The traditional meat industry has vocally opposed letting synthetic foods use the term “meat,” saying it should be reserved for food that has been slaughtered.
Certain companies that are making the foods have said they are producing “clean meat.” Its creators, as well as animal welfare and environmental advocates, hope the method will result in fewer animals getting slaughtered.
