FSIS and FDA to jointly oversee production of cell-cultured meat

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have established a framework to jointly oversee the production of cell-cultured meat in the US.

Under the formal agreement, the two agencies will share oversight of the food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry.

The agreement also details the roles and responsibilities of the two agencies to regulate the development and entry of these products into the US market.

As a result of this shared approach, meat products derived from the cell lines of livestock and poultry is expected to be both safely produced and precisely labelled.

USDA deputy undersecretary for food safety Mindy Brashears said: “Consumers trust the USDA mark of inspection to ensure safe, wholesome and accurately labelled products.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with FDA and our stakeholders to safely regulate these new products and ensure parity in labelling.”

FDA deputy commissioner for food policy and response Frank Yiannas said: “We recognise that our stakeholders want clarity on how we will move forward with a regulatory regime to ensure the safety and proper labelling of these cell-cultured human food products while continuing to encourage innovation.

“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.”

As per the formal agreement, the FDA will monitor cell collection, banks and growth, while FSIS will be responsible for the production and labelling of the cultured meat products.