An estimated 40 companies worldwide are in the race to bring to market cell-based meat — “clean meat” in the eyes of proponents and “fake meat” according to ranchers. Asked if the product qualifies as meat, Deputy Agriculture Undersecretary Mindy Brashears responded, “This is something we will be talking about. That is an important priority for us.”
“There is a lot of interest in this new technology, which is still in the very early stages of development,” Brashears said at a Consumer Federation of America conference on Friday. “And there is still a lot we don’t know about this process and the safety of the processes but we do have the regulatory structure … ” The FDA and USDA announced an agreement on March 7 to share oversight of cell-based meat; FDA will be in charge of cell collection and growth, while the USDA has jurisdiction over harvesting and processing, and have the final say over labeling.
Appointed deputy undersecretary seven weeks ago, Brashears mentioned cell-based meat first, but briefly, during a review of USDA activities on food safety. A long-time Texas Tech professor, Brashears left without taking questions from the audience and responded to one question from reporters in the hallway, on how to categorize cell-based meat. Early this year, the White House re-nominated Brashears for undersecretary for food safety, a sub-cabinet post that requires Senate confirmation.
The seven-point agreement on cell-based meat says the FDA and USDA will refine the lines of authority over aspects of production and identify any statutory or regulatory changes that are needed.
“What’s missing are the details,” said Greg Jaffe of the consumer group Center for Science in the Public Interest during a panel discussion of novel foods. The FDA-USDA agreement on cell-based meat doesn’t cover fish, said Jaffe. The FDA holds the portfolio for seafood, he said, so there is the possibility of different regulations for biotech fish than for cell-based meat.
Dana Wagner of Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based foods intended to mimic the appearance and taste of meat, said the company’s first product, the Impossible Burger, is served in 5,000 restaurants. “We’re looking to be in grocery stores later this year,” she said. The company wants to develop “whole cuts of meat as well.”
Developers of alternative foods often cite rapid global population growth as a reason to bring novel foods into commercial production. “The challenge is to produce more and more food for 30 years .. .the most important 30 years in the history of agriculture,” said Jack Bobo, of Intrexon, who pointed to UN predictions of a world population of 9.8 billion in 2050, compared to the current 7.7 billion. “That is why it is important to get it right.” Intrexon owns AquaBounty Technologies, developer of the first genetically engineered salmon.
An array of farm groups say terms such as “meat,” “poultry,” or “roast” should be reserved to describe flesh from food-bearing animals, such as cattle, hogs and poultry. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, speaking for ranchers, says its top priority is “ensuring that all lab-grown fake meat products are safely and accurately labeled.” The two largest U.S. farm groups say cell-based products should not be called meat.
At the moment, cell-based meat is grown in small quantities in laboratory-like settings using cells taken from livestock. “Think of a farm at a tiny scale,” says Memphis Meats, the self-described leader in the technology. Companies in the field say their products use less land, water and nutrients than livestock. The industry faces the challenges of reducing costs and scaling up production to commercial volumes.