Lab-grown meat takes one step closer to hitting supermarket shelves

Cultivated meat took a step closer to hitting UK supermarket shelves after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declared a meat product developed by a Californian company as safe for human consumption.

Cultivated meat, also sometimes referred to as cell-based meat, clean meat, cultured meat and in vitro meat, is artificially-grown genuine meat that is produced by cultivating animal cells directly.

After cells are taken from a healthy animal – which isn’t killed in the process – they are placed in a large tank where they are fed nutrients until they divide and grow.

The FDA’s rubber stamp for Upside Foods is likely to pave the way for the products derived from real animal cells to someday be available in US grocery stores and restaurants, and eventually the UK.

“This milestone announcement sends a strong message around the world that cultivated meat will be part of a more sustainable food future,” said Seth Roberts, the policy manager of the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI), an NGO that champions sustainable proteins across the UK and Europe.

Cultivating meat is similar to growing plants from cuttings in a greenhouse, which provides warmth, fertile soil, water and nutrients.  It involves taking a small sample of cells from an animal and growing them in a tank.

This supports the same process that happens inside an animal by providing the warmth and basic nutrients needed to produce meat – water, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals.

“Cultivated meat has the potential to help satisfy growing global demand for meat, while reducing the environmental impacts of our food system,” he added.

“As Cop27 draws to a close, ministers should be investing in climate solutions like cultivated meat – just as they’ve supported renewable energy – to ensure the benefits are felt here in the UK.”

The cultivated meat process takes two to three weeks depending on the type of meat being produced and is currently restricted to a texture similar to mince, although that is likely to change as technology improves.

Before a cultivated meat product can be sold in the UK, it needs to be approved as a novel food by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The approval process will include a thorough and evidence-based assessment of the safety and nutritional value of cultivated meat and is estimated to take at least 18 months.

However, GFI claims capacity pressures within the FSA as a result of the increased workload from the Retained EU Law Bill, as well as ongoing recruitment and budgetary challenges, could mean novel food authorisations take longer.