Recently, we have Known that in countries such as Australia and New Zealand or Iceland, cultivated meat has been declared safe for consumption and its tasting has been authorized, joining a list that increasingly has more countries open to introducing cultivated meat.
Tasting authorization refers to the permission given to consumers or participants in specific events to try a new food product before its launch on the market and is usually carried out under specific predetermined conditions. This process allows companies to obtain valuable direct feedback on the taste, texture, and overall acceptance of the product before mass marketing. It is a crucial stage in food product development and gives manufacturers the opportunity to make adjustments based on consumer preferences.
On the other hand, marketing authorization is a broader and regulated process that involves the approval of the competent authorities for the large-scale sale and distribution of a food product. This process involves a thorough evaluation of food safety, ingredients used, manufacturing practices and labeling. While tasting clearance focuses on obtaining immediate feedback, marketing clearance is essential to ensure that a product meets quality and safety standards before it hits supermarket shelves and is available for general consumption.
Both processes are crucial links in the chain that ensures the food that reaches our homes is safe and meets regulatory standards.
In relation to cultivated meat, we find countries that are at different points in the journey.
In the United States, for example, about a year and a half ago the FDA and USDA approved the MARKETING of cultivated meat and it is being served in various restaurants, with good acceptance by consumers.
Singapore, for its part, is considered the pioneer of cultivated meat, since it is one of the first countries to authorize its distribution and sale, having been consuming it in the Asian country for more than four years.
Important steps have also been taken recently in Israel, since in January of this year the Ministry of Health (IMOH) gave its authorization to produce and market cultivated beef.
And in Europe…
In the rest of the places where there has been progress, what has been authorized is its TASTING, since marketing has been approved in the three mentioned countries.
On February 12, Iceland was able to taste a series of dishes made with cultivated meat, in an event in which the Prime Minister and Acting Minister of Food, Fisheries and Agriculture of Iceland, Katrín Jakobsdóttir, participated, who tried it for the first time. tried this product and -they say- she liked it a lot. As reported for example by The Cell Base, Jakobsdóttir highlighted that “cultivated meat is one of the solutions to the climate challenge. The Icelandic authorities are determined to pave the way for the adoption of new solutions in Iceland and we are eager to see the development of an EU regulatory framework for cultivated meat” .
However, it was the Netherlands that became the pioneer in Europe to approve the tasting of cultivated meat on July 6, 2023, under specific conditions and with government control.
The door to marketing in Europe seems to come from Switzerland or the United Kingdom, whose regulatory entities received approval requests last summer that are currently being studied, so the sector awaits news that could mark an important regulatory milestone.
In summary, cultivated meat is gradually managing to gain the trust of different countries for its introduction into the food system, something that will be more than positive for the future of our planet.
