Jurisdictions around the world are actively reviewing how they authorise novel foods. The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a unique opportunity to completely rethink their approach after leaving the EU. A new report considers how their Novel Foods Regulatory Framework could be improved. New concepts such as collaborative regulation and conditional authorisation and supervision could significantly improve the regulatory approval process for foods such as cultured meat and seafood.

Vireo has been working for the past decade to establish safety and support commercialization for microfibrillated cellulose, cellulose nanocrystals and a host of other emerging biomaterials. Our lead scientists are sharing their experience and provide practical guidance in presentations, posters, discussion panels and networking events at the 2023 TAPPI Nanotechnology Conference.

As part of the celebrations for World Food Safety Day (June 7), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) will launch their new food safety toolbox – a new central repository for guidance documents based on the Codex Alimentarius General Principles of Food Hygiene.

Another step towards more modern, mechanistic and humane approaches for the safety evaluation of new materials as the UK government responds to public pressure and reinstates a ban on animal testing.

Our roundup of the latest cultured meat developments includes announcements from Mosa Meats, Meatable, Aleph Farms, Smart MCs, and UPSIDE, plus commercially-relevant research from Tufts, Kobe University, and Enzymit, FDA approval for consumption of gene-edited pigs, regulatory and governmental perspectives on cultured meat safety research priorities from Vireo and New Harvest, and new labelling requirements in Texas.