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French manufacturer submits UK cultivated meat application, targets 2025 approval
The French firm filed the dossier to the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) on 17 May 2024, which it hopes will lead to its products being made legal for sale in the UK.
The submission marks the start of a process that could take up to two years to complete, where the FSA and FSS will assess Vital Meat’s dossier before deciding on whether its cultivated chicken products will be made legal for sale in England, Wales and Scotland.
Vital Meat submitted an application in Singapore, where cultivated meat is legal, in 2023 and hopes to become the first European manufacturer to be approved. Dr. Claude Rescan, the regulatory expert at Vital Meat, explained that the process in Singapore has been “very smooth” so far.
“The decision to expand into the UK swiftly follows our Singaporean endeavour,” said Vital Meat COO Olivia de Talancé.
“Asia and particularly, Singapore is an important market for us with consumers that are open to new foods and a business ecosystem open to innovation.
"We can’t wait to start commercialisation in Great Britain,” added CEO Etienne Duthoit.
“Chicken is one of the most consumed meat over there. We are now preparing our launch in 2025 and looking for food partners.
"We are very confident and are already collaborating with a Singaporean chef as well as food companies to prepare for the market launch as soon as the approval is granted.”
The cultivated chicken developed by Vital Meat is GMO and antibiotic free and, if approved, will provide an ingredient to food companies looking to add the “true taste of chicken” to their plant based recipes.
“Health is of paramount importance to us,” continued de Talancé.
“We are committed to not using antibiotics, or any other controversial ingredient, such as fetal bovine serum or any other animal product. That’s why we are confident that our commitment to safety and sustainability will be rewarded.”
In other news, Kellogg's has announced a product recall due to concerns over consumers choking.
