Better supervision and control of technology is the Senate’s vigilance recommendation. The Committee on Economic Affairs in the Senate recalled its anthropological, ethical, cultural and, in short, political opposition to the development of “cellular foods”. Promising on paper (environment, animal welfare), this innovation according to the Senate, will in no way be essential in the food transition, and would not be without impact on livestock farming. It then made eighteen recommendations grouped into three areas respectively focused on the authorization process strengthening, the information to consumer and research.
Area A: to strengthen the authorization procedure for novel foods and the rules applicable to cellular foods;
Recommendation no. 1: Affirm in law the principle of banning all marketing until the products are authorized under the European “novel foods” regulation.
Recommendation no. 2: Establish a procedure for automatically informing the committees responsible for food in the European Parliament and in the national parliaments for the marketing authorization of any new food.
Recommendation no. 3: Provide in the rural code and in the public health code that ANSES systematically carries out an analysis of the health risks of novel foods in addition to the assessment by EFSA at European level. Forge a stricter regulatory framework in France for the production of cellular foods and push for its adoption at European level:
Recommendation No. 4: In particular, institute a moratorium on the use of fetal bovine serum in culture media used in food production processes.
Recommendation no. 5: Study the advisability of defining by regulation a volume of bioreactors beyond which production would be taxed (for example from 25,000 litres), in order to limit the concentration of health risks.
Area 2: to better inform the consumer and to protect the animal production sectors, by agreeing on clear naming and labeling rules;
Recommendation no. 6: Within the framework of national and European research and reflection on the subject, agree on a common consensual term for the product, which could be “cellular food”.
Recommendation no. 7: Prohibit the trade name “meat” and, on a case-by-case basis, the use of terms referring to animal products, by extending the legislation applicable to plant analogues to cellular foods.
Recommendation no. 8: Make it compulsory to mention the species of origin to ensure that the consumer is properly informed, particularly in terms of allergenicity.
Recommendation no. 9: For products made in France, it is mandatory to display whether a product contains cellular foods or any other novel foods (including insects) by specific display on the front of pre-packaged products.
Recommendation No. 10: Clearly identify cellular foods and farmed meat through labeling and prohibit the marketing of products mixing cellular foods and farmed meat.
Recommendation no. 11: In addition to the list of ingredients, it is mandatory to display the aggregated share of plant origin and cellular origin, in the case of a hybrid based on cellular foods.
Recommendation no. 12: If cellular foods are placed on the market, make it mandatory in out-of-home catering to provide information on the presence of this product in a dish, as well as on the geographical origin of the products served.
Area 3: To intensify research on cellular foods but prioritize animal husbandry and plant proteins to meet the challenge of protein autonomy.
Recommendation no. 13: Create a joint research unit, within INRAE and CNRS, dedicated to a better understanding of cell industry techniques.
Recommendation no. 14: Formally ask these research organizations for collective scientific expertise (ESCo) to assess the socio-economic and environmental impacts and to anticipate the long-term effects on human health of the consumption of cell foods.
Recommendation No. 15: Based on the model of transparency in terms of health safety vis-à-vis the EFSA, impose transparency in environmental matters on companies in this sector, by requiring the communication of data in life cycle analysis life to environmental authorities.
Recommendation no. 16: If requests for authorization are filed in Europe, make a resale right to the Senate one year later.
Recommendation no. 17: To face the challenge of protein autonomy, prioritize accelerating the implementation of the plant-based protein strategy, in particular by increasing dedicated funding, rather than funding distant and more uncertain alternatives .
Recommendation no. 18: Maintain or even increase support for subsistence farming and livestock farming in public and private aid to developing countries.
To learn more, you can consult the full report (in french) and the summary of the report (in french) in PDF.
Orchidali can help you for preparing and writing a Novel Food application file.
Français
The in vitro “meat” in France
Better supervision and control of technology is the Senate’s vigilance recommendation. The Committee on Economic Affairs in the Senate recalled its anthropological, ethical, cultural and, in short, political opposition to the development of “cellular foods”. Promising on paper (environment, animal welfare), this innovation according to the Senate, will in no way be essential in the food transition, and would not be without impact on livestock farming. It then made eighteen recommendations grouped into three areas respectively focused on the authorization process strengthening, the information to consumer and research.
Area A: to strengthen the authorization procedure for novel foods and the rules applicable to cellular foods;
Recommendation no. 1: Affirm in law the principle of banning all marketing until the products are authorized under the European “novel foods” regulation.
Recommendation no. 2: Establish a procedure for automatically informing the committees responsible for food in the European Parliament and in the national parliaments for the marketing authorization of any new food.
Recommendation no. 3: Provide in the rural code and in the public health code that ANSES systematically carries out an analysis of the health risks of novel foods in addition to the assessment by EFSA at European level. Forge a stricter regulatory framework in France for the production of cellular foods and push for its adoption at European level:
Recommendation No. 4: In particular, institute a moratorium on the use of fetal bovine serum in culture media used in food production processes.
Recommendation no. 5: Study the advisability of defining by regulation a volume of bioreactors beyond which production would be taxed (for example from 25,000 litres), in order to limit the concentration of health risks.
Area 2: to better inform the consumer and to protect the animal production sectors, by agreeing on clear naming and labeling rules;
Recommendation no. 6: Within the framework of national and European research and reflection on the subject, agree on a common consensual term for the product, which could be “cellular food”.
Recommendation no. 7: Prohibit the trade name “meat” and, on a case-by-case basis, the use of terms referring to animal products, by extending the legislation applicable to plant analogues to cellular foods.
Recommendation no. 8: Make it compulsory to mention the species of origin to ensure that the consumer is properly informed, particularly in terms of allergenicity.
Recommendation no. 9: For products made in France, it is mandatory to display whether a product contains cellular foods or any other novel foods (including insects) by specific display on the front of pre-packaged products.
Recommendation No. 10: Clearly identify cellular foods and farmed meat through labeling and prohibit the marketing of products mixing cellular foods and farmed meat.
Recommendation no. 11: In addition to the list of ingredients, it is mandatory to display the aggregated share of plant origin and cellular origin, in the case of a hybrid based on cellular foods.
Recommendation no. 12: If cellular foods are placed on the market, make it mandatory in out-of-home catering to provide information on the presence of this product in a dish, as well as on the geographical origin of the products served.
Area 3: To intensify research on cellular foods but prioritize animal husbandry and plant proteins to meet the challenge of protein autonomy.
Recommendation no. 13: Create a joint research unit, within INRAE and CNRS, dedicated to a better understanding of cell industry techniques.
Recommendation no. 14: Formally ask these research organizations for collective scientific expertise (ESCo) to assess the socio-economic and environmental impacts and to anticipate the long-term effects on human health of the consumption of cell foods.
Recommendation No. 15: Based on the model of transparency in terms of health safety vis-à-vis the EFSA, impose transparency in environmental matters on companies in this sector, by requiring the communication of data in life cycle analysis life to environmental authorities.
Recommendation no. 16: If requests for authorization are filed in Europe, make a resale right to the Senate one year later.
Recommendation no. 17: To face the challenge of protein autonomy, prioritize accelerating the implementation of the plant-based protein strategy, in particular by increasing dedicated funding, rather than funding distant and more uncertain alternatives .
Recommendation no. 18: Maintain or even increase support for subsistence farming and livestock farming in public and private aid to developing countries.
To learn more, you can consult the full report (in french) and the summary of the report (in french) in PDF.
Orchidali can help you for preparing and writing a Novel Food application file.
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