When it decides how to label cell-based meats, the government should base its decision on their characteristics – their meatiness – rather than their production method, suggested trade groups representing meatpackers and the start-ups growing meat in the laboratory.
The groups raised the issue in a letter to FDA and USDA on Monday that advocated mandatory labeling of cell-based meat.
“Market entry is fast approaching and there is significant interest in the regulation of these products, particularly regarding applicable labeling requirements,” said the North American Meat Institute and the Alliance for Meat, Poultry and Seafood Innovation.
The USDA would oversee production and labeling of meat developed from cells of livestock and poultry.
To them, lab-grown meat is fake meat that should not be sold as meat.
The high-tech companies developing cell-based meat call it a “Clean meat” that does not involve slaughter and requires less land and fewer resources such as water and grain to produce than livestock.
Cell-based meats may have a range of final characteristics, so labeling may require careful evaluation, said the groups.
With that in mind, the trade groups urged the USDA to begin the rulemaking process so it can gather information about the characteristics of cell-based meat and poultry.
“This information will provide FSIS with substantive datawhile also ensuring that the current labeling standards remain high.” Labeling requirements should be mandatory for cell-based meat, they said.
An estimated 40 companies around the world are competing to bring cell-based meat to the consumer.