Australia and New Zealand Consult on the First Cell-Cultured Meat Application
On December 11, 2023, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) published an announcement[1], soliciting comments on a novel food application from the Australian company Vow Group Pty Ltd (“Vow”) to amend the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code (“the Code”) seeking approval of cultured quail in Australia and New Zealand.
According to the announcement[2], FSANZ has evaluated Vow’s application, including microbiology, toxicology, nutrition, biotechnology, allergenicity, and dietary exposure, and is conducting this first round of public consultation with respect to FSANZ’s hazard and risk assessment and proposed regulatory requirements to inform its decision on developing a measure to amend the Code. For example, FSANZ commented that the cultured quail is not captured by the existing definition of “meat” in the Code, and therefore recommended the inclusion of a new definition for cell-cultured foods to the Code, covering not only the petitioned specific type of cultured quail meat, but other subsequent foods of a similar nature. In addition, FSANZ proposes to require the label of a food for sale to include the statement “cell-cultured” for food identification purposes. This development underscores Australia’s commitment to fostering advancement within the cultivated meat sector. More discussion can be found in our previous newsletter - Australian Food Agency is Ready to Approve Cultured Meats, Are You?
In Australia and New Zealand, the regulatory pathway for the clearance of cell-based meat would require one to petition the authority, FSANZ, to amend the Code[3]. FSANZ is the Agency in charge of reviewing these petitions. Based on the composition of cell-based meat, such a petition may involve the amendment of certain sections in the Code, such as novel foods, foods produced using gene technology, food safety requirements, etc. It is worth noting that FSANZ may organize consultation meetings with potential applicants for companies to obtain a better idea of the local regulatory and technical requirements for the applications before filing.
Comments on the cultured quail application must be submitted to FSANZ before February 5, 2024. After that, FSANZ indicated that there would be a second round of consultation on the application.
Keller and Heckman assists companies in regulatory matters involving alternative protein ingredients, including submissions with the food authorities such as FSANZ to clear the products. If you need any assistance or have any questions on the process in Australia and New Zealand or other markets, please do not hesitate to contact David Ettinger (ettinger@khlaw.com), Jenny Xin Li (li@khlaw.com), or your existing contact at Keller and Heckman LLP.
Keller and Heckman LLP represents the food industry on regulatory matters, including alternative protein companies around the world. We will continue to report updates regarding alternative proteins. Please sign up for our newsletters here.
[1] https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-standards-code/applications/A1269-Cultured-Quail-as-a-Novel-Food
[2] https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-12/A1269%201st%20Call%20for%20submissions_0.pdf
[3] https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/safety/Cell-based-meat