Meat, milk and foie gras grown in a lab could soon hit supermarket shelves, following a £1.6million boost for research into their safety. Scientific advances mean it is now possible to grow thousands of tons of “steak” from cells derived from a single cow.
Pioneering companies have developed complex processes to grow different types of cells in structures that mimic the texture of traditional foods. Four have already applied for approval to sell their products in the UK and over a dozen more are expected to follow within two years. Amid excitement about the potential of cell-cultivated foods - often touted as a sustainable alternative to traditional farming methods - the Government has awarded £1.
6million to the Food Standards Agency (FSA). READ MORE: King Charles urged to make major change to his diet during his cancer treatment The cash will launch a “sandbox” programme bringing together experts from industry, non-profits, citizen science groups and academia to develop a regulatory framework to ensure they are safe for human consumption. Professor Robin May, the FSA’s chief scientific advisor, said: “Cell-cultivated products are radically different from anything that has gone through that process previously.
"This is not a different colourant or preservative that is based on a chemical structure that already exists. “We think very strongly that a fundamentally different type of science needs a fundamentally different approach to regulation.” Three companie.