Today the Dutch Government announced an independent Expert Committee to evaluate cell-cultivated meat tastings, and it is a big step toward getting cell-cultivated meat and seafood on people’s plates.
In the Netherlands, the committee, which includes a toxicologist, microbiologist, physician and an ethical expert, will evaluate requests by companies to conduct tastings of cultivated meat and seafood in controlled environments, a significant step forward to enabling tastings in Europe.
Meatable has submitted its dossier and expects to organise its first tasting soon.
Last year, cell-cultivated meat companies Meatable and Mosa Meat and sector representative HollandBIO successfully lobbied the Dutch government to create a ‘code of practice’ to make cultivated meat and seafood tastings possible in controlled environments.
This makes the Netherlands the first country in the European Union to make pre-approval tastings of food grown directly from animal cells possible, even before an EU novel food approval.
Tech.eu hears from many foodtech startups left waiting by EU “novel food” regulatory delays, while cell-cultivated meat and seafood are available in different capacities in Australia, Israel, the US, and Singapore.
Why tastings matter
Tastings enable people to experience the taste and texture of this new product and understand that it looks like, tastes like, and has the same nutritional profile as traditional meat, as well as educate people about the role cultivated meat can play in meeting sustainability goals.
The tasting approval process
Under the Code of Practice, cultivated food companies can hand in their dossiers, including information about their product and necessary safety documents, to apply for approval to hold tastings. The expert committee will investigate the documents and provide feedback. The committee will then approve for tastings to take place or request more information.
When approvals have been granted, the respective company must hold a tasting session in a controlled environment, which is suitable for food preparation and inaccessible to the general public.
This is a huge win for companies like Mosa Meat and Meatable, and seafood alternative company Upstream Foods — just a few of the 150 cell-cultivated meat and seafood companies globally — who can now submit their dossiers to request approval to hold tastings, a final hurdle ahead of holding the first approved cultivated meat and seafood tastings in Europe.
Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO at Meatable, said:
“This is another important step forward in approving cultivated meat.
The Netherlands has long been the pioneer of cultivated meat which is further cemented by this latest development, and we thank the Dutch Government, Cellular Agriculture Netherlands Foundation (CANS), and HollandBIO for their joint efforts to make this possible.
We’re delighted that we have already handed in our dossier for approval and look forward to holding our first tastings in the Netherlands soon. We can’t wait to invite people to try our delicious pork sausages and experience for themselves that it doesn’t just look and taste like meat, it is meat.”
Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat, said:
“We are thrilled to see the protocol developed in consultation with the government is now being implemented. Mosa Meat will be applying soon to host the first legal tastings of our cultivated beef.
The Netherlands continues to be a global leader in sustainable food innovation, even as others in Europe appear to be taking a step backwards at the height of our climate and biodiversity crises.”
Kianti Figler, CEO of Upstream Foods, said:
“At Upstream Foods, we’re thrilled about the Netherlands taking the initiative in pre-approved tastings for cultivated food. This is a pivotal moment for the Dutch cultivated meat and seafood ecosystem.
We are dedicated to revolutionising seafood alternatives through fish fat cultivation, and this initiative empowers us to showcase our innovative approach. We thank the Dutch Government, CANS, and HollandBIO for their collaborative efforts in making this possible.”
Lead image: Meatable pork sausages, Photo: uncredited.
