UK Launches Pioneering Programme For Cell-Cultivated Products

UK Launches Pioneering Research Programme For Cell-Cultivated Products

The programme will assess the safety of the products

13th March 2025

2 Minutes Read

The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a “sandbox programme” to gather evidence on the safety of cell-cultivated products (CCPs) for human consumption. Eight companies representing a range of cell-cultivated ingredients, technology, and processes have been selected to participate in the programme.

Over the next two years, a team of scientists and regulatory experts will gather data about CCPs, also known as cultured or cultivated meat or dairy, to inform regulation of the products. The evidence will allow the FSA to ensure the safety of CCPs before they go to market.

“By supporting the safe development of cell-cultivated products, we’re giving businesses the confidence to innovate and accelerating the UK’s position as a global leader in sustainable food production,” science minister Lord Vallance said in a statement. “This work will not only help bring new products to market faster, but strengthen consumer trust … and creating new economic opportunities across the country.”

From cultivated fats to cultivated fish

Mosa Meat burger on a grill — Mosa Meat companies like Mosa Meat, which makes cultivated patties, will participate in the programme

The international group of companies participating in the programme make a variety of cultivated products. They include fats, fish, pork, and beef. They include Dutch company Mosa Meat, the UK’s Hoxton Farms, and US company BlueNalu.

The FSA will also be working with academic and private research partners on the programme such as the Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub (CARMA) led by the University of Bath and the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein. The Alternative Proteins Association (APA) and The Good Food Institute Europe will represent the broader alt protein industry.

“Safe innovation is at the heart of this programme,” Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Advisor at the FSA, said in a statement. “By prioritising consumer safety and making sure new foods, like CCPs are safe, we can support growth in innovative sectors. Our aim is to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of new food, while maintaining the highest safety standards.”