The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that a public meeting will take place to discuss foods produced using animal cell culture technology.

Here are the public meeting details:

• Date: July 12, 2018
• Time: 8:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
• Location: Harvey W. Wiley Federal Building, 5001 Campus Drive, Auditorium (first floor), College Park, MD 20740.

Cell culture technologies have become more common in the production of cells and tissues for human therapeutic use. Now, cell culture technologies are being introduced to the food industry for the purpose of “creating innovative products that resemble conventional meat, poultry, and seafood.”

Given FDA’s extensive experience with applying new and innovative technologies in various areas, the agency believes in its own ability to “evaluate and ensure the safety of novel technologies in the food sector at this upcoming public meeting, while we also discuss these issues with, and gather relevant data and information from, stakeholders.

At the public meeting, FDA intends to share their initial thinking for how they intend to appropriately apply the agency’s existing regulatory tools and policies to this novel area of technology. In addition, they plan to leverage the expertise of the FDA Science Board during their regular scheduled meeting in October to further inform our efforts. The meeting will welcome stakeholders and other interested parties, all of whom will have the opportunity to comment on the use of cell culture technologies in food. FDA is specifically asking for input, relevant data, and information on the following questions:

• What considerations specific to animal cell culture technology would be appropriate to include in evaluation of food produced by this method of manufacture?
• What kinds of variations in manufacturing methods would be relevant to safety for foods produced by animal cell culture technology?
• What kinds of substances would be used in the manufacture of foods produced using animal cell culture technology and what considerations would be appropriate in evaluating the safety of these uses?
• Are the potential hazards associated with production of foods using animal cell culture technology different from those associated with traditional food production/processing? Is there a need for unique control measures to address potential hazards associated with production of foods using animal cell culture technology?

The meeting will focus on the food safety aspect of cell culture technology use, but other topics like labeling may also naturally come to the forefront. Comments on additional (but related) issues that arise as the result of this meeting will be the focus of future meetings, says FDA.

Meeting attendees are encouraged to register early online as seating is limited. Registration is free. Registration is also encouraged for those who plan to view the meeting via its scheduled live webcast.

Get more information about the meeting and registration at FDA.gov.

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