The Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration began a two-day stakeholder meeting Tuesday to discuss how to regulate livestock and poultry produced with cell-culture technology. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb emphasized that both agencies have a role in creating a regulatory framework for lab-grown meat, but suggested such a framework will still take months to complete.
The agencies’ cooperative outlook is a departure from earlier in the summer, when the two were angling for primary control over the regulatory process. A July public meeting held by FDA on the safety and labeling of cell-culture technology was seen by some as a move to outpace USDA’s regulatory efforts. But some stakeholders, like the North American Meat Institute, still believe the sole regulatory responsibility should lie with one agency. “The fundamental issue here is not complex, so let me be clear—primary jurisdiction regarding the regulation of cell-based meat products rests with the United States Department of Agriculture,” wrote NAMI’s Mark Dopp in his comments for this month’s meeting.
In his opening remarks, Perdue called the summit “one of the more robust meetings we’ve had here at USDA.” Carmen Rottenberg, acting deputy under secretary for food safety at USDA, estimated that about 600 people were planning to participate in person or via webcast during the two days. The summit brings together industry, government, and research stakeholders who will provide input on how the two agencies should regulate cell culture technology.
Asked by reporters what the timeline will be for developing a regulatory framework for the technology, Perdue said “it remains to be seen.” He added, “If we can get this done in 2019, that would be probably pretty fast.”
Perdue suggested that regulating products made with cell-culture technology is of particular importance given a growing demand for food and especially proteins worldwide. “Our new motto at USDA is ‘do right and feed everyone,'” he reminded attendees. “While it sounds like a very lofty goal … it has real world meaning. We know demographically there are projected to be 9 billion people on this planet by 2050. And that means we’re going to have to feed them wherever they are, by whatever means are available.”
In the coming years, “cell-cultured products will take many forms,” Gottlieb said in his opening remarks. “We fully anticipate that both FDA and USDA will have active roles in the regulatory oversight of cell-cultured products.” He added that, “We don’t pretend to have all the answers yet. You’ll help us identify the best path forward.”