Developing a collaborative action plan for cultured meat and seafood safety
Outcomes from a workshop with industry, academia, and governmental stakeholders
Phase 3 of our Cultured Meat Safety Initiative (CMSI), a collaborative effort between New Harvest and Vireo Advisors, aims to convene diverse stakeholders as we build open access resources toward regulatory, consumer, and market acceptance of cultured meat and seafood.
9 academic stakeholders from 6 universities, 3 governmental scientists from 2 agencies, and 13 industry representatives from 11 companies met at the Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture in Boston to begin this work.
Participants generated and prioritized safety research questions as they developed preliminary roadmaps for addressing potential safety hazards associated with the inputs to cultured meat production, such as growth factors, scaffolds and the cells themselves; risks associated with manufacturing, including the risk of microbiological contamination; and potential issues related to the final product, including approaches for comparison with conventional products, shelf-life and labeling.
The CMSI is taking the lead in this area: developing a vision for addressing the safety knowledge gaps that have been identified and facilitating partnerships between cultured meat and seafood developers and governmental and academic organizations to develop new methods and generate the data that is needed. We invite anyone interested in participating in this work to reach out and join us. Contact us!