Cultivated meat approved by Australia regulator

Cultivated-meat products have been approved for sale in Australia for the first time, opening the door for local start-up Vow to begin marketing its cell-cultured quail.

The development follows a multi-year food safety assessment by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and required an amendment to the regulator’s codes of standards.

According to the Asia-Pacific division of the Good Food Institute (GFI), a think tank for plant-based and cell-based protein alternatives, the move sets an “important precedent for global regulators”.

Sydney-based Vow produces its Japanese-inspired quail under the Forged brand, which it launched last year in select Singapore restaurants, the city-state that was the first to approve cell-cultured meat for commercial sale.

In 2020, Singapore became the first country to authorise the sale of cell-cultivated meat for human consumption, followed by the US three years later and Israel last year.

Vow founder and CEO George Peppou said in a statement: “Australia has always punched above its weight when it comes to food – we’re a country of curious, creative, deeply thoughtful chefs and diners.

“To now be able to offer something completely new – not an imitation, but a new category of meat – is something we’re incredibly excited about. While other markets face regulatory uncertainty, Australia is embracing innovation, and consumers are ready to try something new and delicious.”

Now that Vow has secured domestic market approval, the company plans to launch sales in “dozens of Australia’s most exciting venues”, including acclaimed Sydney restaurant NEL and Italian outlet Bottarga in Melbourne.

As part of the approval, FSANZ has also developed category-wide requirements and guidance for cultivated meat producers, bringing cultivated meat more in line with the standardised requirements of conventional food categories, according to GFI.

Mirte Gosker, the CEO for GFI APAC, said in a LinkedIn post: “Meat has never been more popular, especially in Asian markets that import top-quality proteins from down under.

“The challenge is that conventional production methods are highly inefficient: we currently feed up to 100 calories to a cow to produce just one calorie of beef.”

He added: “Australia’s public embrace of cellular agriculture could enable local food producers to sell healthy and delicious cultivated proteins through existing agricultural distribution networks and add substantial new revenue streams to their ledgers.

“It also sets the stage for greater international regulatory harmonisation, which has the potential to unlock export opportunities across the world’s most populous region.”

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