The UK government is investing £1.6 million (US$2.09 million) to launch an innovative “sandbox” program for cell-cultivated products (CCPs). The aim is to ensure these novel proteins are safe for consumers to eat before they are approved for sale. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), have received the funding from the government’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund’s first round that ran from February 1, 2024 to April 19, 2024.

According to the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, regulatory sandboxes provide innovators with access to regulatory expertise. They allow them to test products and services in a controlled environment and find out whether a business model is attractive to consumers or how a particular technology works in the market.

The FSA’s sandbox is claimed to be the “first of its kind in Europe” and comes after South Korea decided to set up a “regulation-free special zone” to propel cellular agriculture-focused projects among food tech firms.

New staff will be recruited to work on the sandbox and to guide companies planning to submit applications to sell cultivated meat in the UK.

“The two-year program means we can recruit a team to gather rigorous scientific evidence on CCPs and the technology used to make them,” says the FSA in a statement to Food Ingredients First. 

“Recruitment will begin shortly, and the program is expected to start in February.”

Information about CCPs will enable the FSA and FSS to make “well-informed decisions about product safety,” says the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), which announced the funding.

Risk assessment

Cultivated meat must undergo a thorough risk assessment and be authorized by ministers before being sold in British restaurants and supermarkets. Its sales are authorized in the US but not in the UK, wher the FSA is currently reviewing at least four applications.

“CCPs go through the same risk assessment process as any other new product. This involves risk identification, identifying potential hazards in food and feed that could pose a risk to public health and risk analysis,” continues the FSA statement.

“The identified risks are analyzed to understand their nature, likelihood and potential impact. This step often involves scientific research and data collection.”

Earlier this year, UK company Meatly received regulatory clearance to sell cultivated meat in the country for pet food, under a separate process overseen by the Department for Food, Environment and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Speeding up applications

Nonprofit and think tank the Good Food Institute Europe has welcomed the move, which it says could help grow the UK’s cultivated meat sector and ensure consumers have confidence in the safety and nutritional quality of this food.

“Following the recent confirmation of reforms to the way regulated products are brought to market, this is another exciting sign that the new UK government wants to capitalize on the strong investments made in cultivated meat research by bringing products to market in a way that upholds Britains gold standard safety regulations,” Linus Pardoe, senior policy manager at GFI Europe, tells Food Ingredients First.

However, he believes the FSA has been “under-resourced” for a number of years — despite its workload increasing significantly since Brexit.

“This is having an impact on the wider food industry, leading to a situation in which authorizations of new food and animal feed take an average of 2.5 years, although the statutory aim is 17 years.”

“While the sandbox is a welcome measure, it is not a solution to these challenges, and in order to fully realize the potential of cultivated meat, ministers must provide a long-term funding boost to the agency’s budget, enabling regulators to complete robust risk assessments within statutory timeframes.”

The FSA could speed up application processing through the Cell-Cultivated Products Regulatory Sandbox. It plans to offer “pre-application support” to CCP companies and address key questions that must be answered before CCPs can enter the market, such as labeling.

“The volume of evidence and expertise we’ll have built up by the end of the two-year program means that we’ll be able to process CCP applications more swiftly and support businesses better in their applications,” underscores the FSA.

Additionally, the DSIT believes the program will reduce delays and costs associated with applying for regulatory approval, “estimated at the date of publication to be £350,000-£500,000 (US$457,838-US$654,054) per company per product and will help CCP companies attract the investment they need to scale production.”

Curbing red tape

The UK government has also unveiled a Regulatory Innovation Office to speed up consumer access to new technologies, such as pest-resistant crops and cultivated meat.

Science and technology secretary, Peter Kyle says: “By speeding up approvals, providing regulatory certainty and reducing unnecessary delays, we’re curbing the burden of red tape so businesses and our public services can innovate and grow, which means more jobs, a stronger economy and a better quality of life for people across the UK.”

The new Office will collaborate with the Department for Transport, the Department for Health and Social Care and Defra.

Tapping alternative protein potential

According to Pardoe, the UK has one of the most robust food regulatory systems in the world and the sandbox can play a critical role in ensuring consumers have confidence in the safety and nutritional quality of cultivated meat.

“The European Commission has set out their intention to create regulatory sandboxes to test a range of novel solutions within the forthcoming Biotechnology Act.”

He believes the UK government’s latest initiative will further encourage the Commission to explore “how sandboxes can be applied to alternative proteins, ensuring the EU keeps pace with global regulatory innovation.”