The U.S. Department of Human Services’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will hold a public meeting on July 12 titled, “Foods Produced Using Animal Cell Culture Technology.” The purpose of the meeting is to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the lab-grown or “fake” meat.
In making the announcement, FDA said the agency is asking for input, relevant data and information to address four main areas:
• What considerations specific to animal cell culture technology would be appropriate to include in evaluation of food produced by this method of manufacture?
• What kinds of variations in manufacturing methods would be relevant to safety for foods produced by animal cell culture technology?
• What kinds of substances would be used in the manufacture of foods produced using animal cell culture technology and what considerations would be appropriate in evaluating the safety of these uses?
• Are the potential hazards associated with production of foods using animal cell culture technology different from those associated with traditional food production/processing? Is there a need for unique control measures to address potential hazards associated with production of foods using animal cell culture technology?
WLJ has been following the issue of lab-grown meat products and reported in the April 16 issue on comments the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) submitted to the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) regarding the establishment of beef and meat labeling requirements, and to exclude products not directly derived from animals as being defined as “beef” or “meat.”
At that time, NCBA expressed concern over different regulations established by FDA and USDA when it comes to food products, and which agency should have jurisdiction over lab-made “meat” products.
In response to the recently announced meeting, Danielle Beck, NCBA’s director of government affairs, said, “NCBA looks forward to participating fully in the public meeting, and will use the opportunity to advocate for U.S. Department of Agriculture oversight of lab-grown fake meat products.” She continued, “The Food and Drug Administration’s announcement disregards the authorities granted to USDA under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as well as USDA’s significant scientific expertise and long-standing success in ensuring the safety of all meat and poultry products.
“Under the current regulatory framework, FDA plays an important role in terms of ensuring the safety of food additives used in meat, poultry, and egg products. All additives are initially evaluated for safety by FDA, but ultimately FSIS maintains primary jurisdiction.”
In comments announcing the meeting, FDA noted, “Cell culture technologies that have been increasingly used to produce cells and tissues for human therapeutic use are now being used by the food sector to create innovative products that resemble conventional meat, poultry, and seafood. The FDA has multiple authorities and programs that can support efforts to safely bring products with new ingredients to the market. Food safety is at the core of the agency’s mission to protect and promote public health for our nation’s consumers.”
The agency also noted that it has extensive experience “applying its existing authority flexibly and effectively to rapidly evolving areas of technological innovation such as plant biotechnology.” It went on to say, “We look forward to sharing our experiences in evaluating and ensuring the safety of novel technologies in the food sector at this upcoming public meeting.”
While the primary subject of the meeting will focus on food safety, FDA said it welcomes comments on labeling and other issues related to foods produced through animal cell culture technology, as these will likely be topics of later discussion.
FDA said it will share its initial thinking for how it intends to appropriately apply existing regulatory tools and policies to this “novel area of technology.” In addition, the agency indicated it will leverage the expertise of the FDA Science Board during a regularly scheduled meeting in October to further inform its efforts.
The July 12 meeting will be available live via webcast. Electronic or written comments will be accepted until Sept. 25, 2018.
To submit comments electronically, go to the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov and enter FDA-2018-N-2155 in the search box. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
Comments submitted by mail should be sent to: Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852. All comments submitted must include the Docket No. FDA-2018-N-2155, for “Foods produced using animal cell culture technology; public meeting; request for comments.”
Because comments will be made public, those submitting opinions should use care to not include confidential information including your name or address in the body of the comments. — Rae Price, WLJ editor
