Bringing together the FSA’s existing work on novel foods and food created though genetic technology, the hub will align with the new Regulatory Innovation Office’s broader work to ensure regulation supports and keeps pace with innovation.
Specifically, the funding with boost the FSA’s scientific capacity to risk assess precision fermented products, provide greater regulatory clarity to industry on how to gain market authorisation and support wider innovation.
Professor Susan Jebb, chair of the FSA, said: “We’re pleased to secure this additional funding to make the risk assessment of innovative products swifter, without compromising on food safety.
Greater support
“This important new project will give innovators greater support in navigating the regulations under which we assess if food is safe, making the system more efficient and enabling safe products to come to the market more quickly.
“The public can remain confident that the foods they choose are safe and the UK economy can benefit from business investment, so as a nation we will be able to take early advantage of the potential these technologies offer.”
The funding is separate from the FSA’s regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat that launched earlier this month, which will enable regulators to work alongside companies, academics and organisations – including GFI Europe – to expand their knowledge about cultivated meat.
Capitalising on potential
Linus Pardoe, senior policy manager at GFI Europe, said: “This announcement shows the government is working to capitalise on the UK’s potential to become a world leader in food innovation, helping entrepreneurs work with scientists to bring products to market in a way that upholds our gold standard safety regulations.
“Focusing on precision fermentation – a hugely promising way to reduce the climate impact of many foods – is a particularly welcome move, and investing in the FSA’s risk assessment capacity is a positive step towards modernising the regulatory pathway to deliver benefits to the public and innovators.”
Meanwhile, European patents for alternative proteins have skyrocketed in the last 10 years, but work to make these products tasty and affordable is often overlooked, according to the Good Food Institute (GFI).
