Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has opened a second round of public consultation regarding the regulatory approval of cultivated quail as a food.
The application has been submitted by Australian cultivated meat company Vow, which hopes to use cultivated quail cells in conjunction with other ingredients to make products such as logs, rolls, and patties. FSANZ previously concluded last year that cultivated quail is safe to eat, following a comprehensive scientific assessment.
The first round of public consultation began in December 2023, with FSANZ proposing several labelling requirements for cultivated products to avoid consumer confusion. After considering the evidence and submissions, the originally suggested approach has been modified; rather than approving cultured quail cells as a novel food, a standards-based approach will be used, allowing the sale of Vow’s product and any cultivated food that passes an FSANZ pre-market assessment.
Draft standards and other documents have been prepared and will apply to all future cultivated foods. According to FSANZ, this approach will provide a clearer regulatory framework to support innovation. Feedback received through the public consultation will be considered before FSANZ decides whether to approve Vow’s application.
Australian cultivated meat company Vow announces that it has secured regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) to produce and sell its first product, cultivated quail.
“A new path for food”
Vow raised a huge $49.2 million in late 2022, which it claimed was the largest ever Series A round for a cultivated meat startup. In February 2023, the company officially began the FSANZ regulatory approval process for its cultivated quail, becoming the first to submit an application for cultivated food in Australia.
In April of this year, the cultivated quail received regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency, making Vow the fourth company in the world to receive approval for a cultivated meat product. At the time, Vow announced that a parfait made with the quail would launch at Singaporean restaurants.
Last month, Vow unveiled Forged Gras, a foie gras alternative made from cultivated quail cells. The product is now available in Hong Kong, marking the first commercial sale of cultivated meat in the region and making Vow the first company to sell multiple cultivated meat products across multiple markets.
“At Vow, we’re paving a new path for food by using innovative technology to address real challenges around foods that people want but can’t access,” said Vow CEO and co-founder George Peppou.
Source : Vegconomist