Skip to content Skip to footer

FAQ

Close

Cellular agriculture is the process of producing animal-based foods and other products directly from animal cells.

 

Cellular agriculture offers a wide range of products from cultivated meat, poultry, fish and seafood, to other animal-based products e.g., cultivated foie gras, eggs, dairy and other non-food products

 

A small sample of animal cells is placed into a growth medium. The cells, nourished and stimulated by the growth medium, grow and develop into muscle, fat or other tissues to form meat and other animal products.

All food on the market in the European Union (EU) must be safe. Each company developing cultivated animal food products in the EU must undergo a thorough pre-market safety review, and must comply with existing food safety regulations.

Currently billions of animals are slaughtered for food every year. Cultivated meat and seafood  can be made from a small sample of cells without the need to kill the animal.

The method of sourcing cells differs per product and per company. A small sample of animal tissue can be taken from a live animal or from a freshly fertilized egg. Some companies may use a sample to create cell lines that are frozen and used for years while some may choose to use primary cells and take samples more often. Whatever method is chosen, it can be done without causing discomfort to the animal.

The growth medium is a solution that provides all the necessary nutrients and components for normal cell and tissue growth and development, from the initial few cells to the final product. The medium contains the same ingredients, e.g., sugars, proteins, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and/or growth factors as would be found in standard feed for animals, to mimic the natural environment in which cells grow. Cellular Agriculture Europe members’ objective is not to use components of animal origin in growth media used in the production of commercial cultivated animal products. 

Growth factors are naturally-occurring types of proteins that instruct the cells on what they  should do as part of normal growth and development. For example, to multiply, or to mature  into specific tissues and cell types. 

No, it is not required.  

For the production of cultivated meat, dairy or seafood, FBS is not necessary and being  phased out by the Cellular Agriculture Europe members who are using it for their production  processes, for substantial reasons: batch-to-batch inconsistency, animal welfare, and risk of  adventitious agents. Besides, some of our members have never used FBS in their production  processes since the beginning.  

Overall, cultivated meat companies’ raison d’être is to offer slaughter-free animal proteins.  Their goal is therefore to stop using FBS as soon as they can, for those who are still using it.  Animal-free and more cost-effective nutrient media are in development, with some already in  use in the cultured meat production process. However, FBS (or its derivative) may still be  used in early stage of cell line derivation, in very small amount and as a “one shot”.  

The Cellular Agriculture Europe members who are using FBS in their production processes  are working on totally phasing out FBS.

No, for the production of cultivated meat, poultry or fish products, GM techniques are not  required. Cultivated meat and other cultivated animal-based products may be produced with  or without the use of genetic engineering. 

Cellular Agriculture Europe members’ objective is to produce food that is nutritionally  equivalent to their conventionally produced counterparts. As cultivated meat is produced  without animal slaughter and under sterile, rigidly controlled conditions, the risks for  contaminations and for emergence of foodborne or zoonotic illnesses from pathogens like E.  coli, Salmonella, Campylobacter and viruses is significantly reduced.

A recent study by CE Delft found that cultivated meat produced at scale using renewable  energy could reduce the carbon footprint by 92%, land use by 90%, and water use by 66%  compared to conventional beef production. According to the authors: “CM [cultivated meat]  has the potential to have a lower environmental impact than ambitious conventional meat  benchmarks, for most environmental indicators, most clearly agricultural land use, air pollution,  and nitrogen-related emissions. The carbon footprint is substantially lower than that of beef.  How it compares to chicken and pork depends on energy mixes. While CM production and its  upstream supply chain are energy-intensive, using renewable energy can ensure that it is a  sustainable alternative to all conventional meats.” 

Cellular agriculture developers and producers make every effort not to use antibiotic substances in production, and like conventional meat companies, will be required to demonstrate that products are compliant with the applicable law for antibiotic residues in the EU.

A recent study by CE Delft – the first ever to be based on data from cultivated meat companies – compared the projected water use of cellular agriculture to an ambitious benchmark of conventional products, and showed the water footprint of cultivated beef to be 78% lower than conventionally produced beef (258L/kg), and similar to the water footprint of conventional pork and poultry production. The footprint calculation includes water used to irrigate the crops which serve as sources of nutrients added to the growth media, the water used in the growth media as well as water needed for cleaning the production facility. Water usage is expected to vary depending on the process and type of product.

The European Union has indicated that it intends to regulate cultivated meat according to Novel Food Regulation (EU) 2015/2283.

A novel cultivated chicken product has been approved in Singapore. In the United Kingdom, following the UK’s exit from the EU the novel food regulatory framework transitioned to the Food Standards Agency (FSA), retaining certain pieces of the EU legislation.4 In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have published a statement on joint regulation of the production of cell cultured meat, poultry, fish and seafood products.5 The FDA will regulate the cellular agriculture stages of production, the FDA and FSIS will jointly regulate and monitor the transition stage from cell culture to meat product, and the FSIS will regulate the meat and meat processing stages through packaging, labelling, storage and distribution of the products. There are novel food regulations being developed in other jurisdictions e.g., Japan, China.

As with all innovations coming to market, different names are used to refer to products produced through cellular agriculture techniques, such as cultivated/cultured/cell-cultured meat, fish, dairy or leather. At Cellular Agriculture Europe, we encourage efforts to solicit information provided to consumers, ensuring that there is a consensus across industry stakeholders on the term to be used. A proliferation of multiple, alternative terms, in the absence of industry consensus, may cause confusion and misinformation among consumers. 

We must recognise the negative externalities of our food systems on public health and the  environment. Transitioning towards sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices is  absolutely vital to preserve ecosystems while increasing the nutritional density and quality of  the food we eat. The only drawback is that lower-input, less intensive practices are typically  less productive. As a result, it is imperative that we explore innovative solutions to support the  transition towards these practices, including cellular agriculture techniques. This will let us  keep up with increasing demand for food while keeping systems in balance. 

Cellular agriculture brings the potential of reducing the climate impact of meat and dairy  production as well as lowering the use of water (see question 13), land and greenhouse gas  emissions. In Europe, cellular agriculture can contribute to strengthening Europe’s food  security, underpinning a strong long-term resilience, economic recovery, public health, food  safety, climate action, nature protection and animal welfare.

The idea of cellular agriculture was already in the mind of futurists like Frederick Edwin Smith  or Winston Churchill at the beginning of the 19th Century. The technology was then pioneered  in the Netherlands in the 2000s and now it counts 100+ companies worldwide. Actually, the  cellular agriculture’s production process is based on the well-known “cell culture technology”  that has been used in Europe for decades, for example for growing yeasts for bread baking or  for the production of rennet in cheese.

This is a decision that will have to be made by the regulator. Cellular Agriculture Europe is  advising European regulators to consult with companies and researchers on labelling of  products made with cellular agriculture techniques and evaluate the labelling of specific  products according to production methods and product characteristics. 

Vegetarians represent a wide demographic of individuals who choose a vegetarian lifestyle  based on diverse reasons including health, nutrition, environmental responsibility and the  ethical treatment of animals. The choice to eat cultivated meat, poultry, fish or dairy products  will be largely based on their perception of the products’ alignment with their health or  ideological needs and opinions.

The decision-making process for kosher and halal certifications for products made with  cellular agriculture techniques is well underway. It requires a careful analysis of the exact  production methods of the final product. In early 2023, Israel’s chief rabbi declared cultivated  steak kosher, therefore permitted for consumption under Jewish religious law.

Other questions?

Cellular Agriculture is a dynamic and growing industry so these FAQs might not answer all questions you might have. If you have specific questions, feel free to get in touch.

Contact us