US and China regulatory authorities and industry dialogue on cultivated meat
The AgFood Future Centre of Excellence (AGF) and the Agriculture Food Partnership (AFP) co-organised an online event where, for the first time, regulatory experts from two of the largest potential markets for meat innovation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment (CFSA), conferred on the regulatory approval process and prospects for cultivated meat in these two major markets. The event was supported and attended by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (MARA) and the China Meat Association (CMA), who are also major influencers in developing China’s protein innovation market.
The Agfood Future Centre of Excellence (AGF), the main organiser for this event, has been facilitating protein innovation development in China since 2018, including partnering with AFP to organise ongoing policy dialogues between Chinese and U.S. regulators and industry representatives. “These meetings provide opportunities for start-ups, financiers, and ultimately all players involved in protein innovation,” said Ryan Xue, the Chairman of Agfood Future. Xue believes “This in-depth sharing between the U.S. and China will have far-reaching significance for governments and industries interested in seeing the adoption of food innovation that will help shape food innovation and the future of food in the U.S., China, and the world.”
In the words of Jennifer Lee, the Executive Director of AFP, Only by bringing together industry leaders, technical experts, investment institutions, and regulators around protein innovation can we realise food production and systems that deliver safe, quality, affordable, and nutritious food to consumers while achieving food security.
Jeremiah Fasano, Senior Policy Advisor, at the FDA’s Regulatory Review Office, provided a keynote at the event. Fasano played a key role in Upside’s pre-market approval process and is an FDA expert on cultivated meat. He expressed FDA’s ongoing support for food technology innovation, encouraging industry representatives to connect “early and often” to “discuss the development of food technology, promote industry development, and solve food safety problems together.”
Xiaohong Wang, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development’s (MARA)’s Deputy Director of China’s Institute of Food and Nutrition Development, expressed that while Chinese regulatory authorities continue to attach great importance to food safety and will continue to conduct safety assessments on innovative meat products, they will also consider the contribution of the development of new technologies to meet the market’s increasing demand for the supply of protein, while also comprehensively considering consumers’ acceptance of cultivated meat and other products.
A platform for international collaboration, AgFood Future is a nonprofit that connects 400+ of the world’s leading organisations around the common goal of agri-food sustainability for food system transformation in China and throughout global supply chains.
