'If lab-grown proteins are sold as meat they must be regulated as meat' – NCBA
US farmers have found themselves embroiled in a spat between the USDA and the FDA over who should be responsible for regulating lab-grown 'fake-meats'.
Farmers are looking to maintain a level playing field for their products.
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Farmers in the US have said that if companies involved in lab-grown proteins want to market their products as meat, they should be happy to follow the same rules as others in the industry.
It comes as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) claims the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has moved to assert itself as the primary regulator of cell-cultured products. Currently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the main oversight body for emerging lab-grown products as well as farm produce.
In a letter to President Trump, a number of US farmer representative bodies, said: “Protecting the health and welfare of consumers is our top priority and this goal is achieved under a comprehensive regulatory system administered by the USDA."
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Standards
"That system ensures all meat and poultry products are held to the same rigorous food safety and labelling standards. Anything less is a grave disservice to consumers and producers.”
The letter claims that at a recent public meeting held by the FDA, which excluded the USDA, a representative of a cell-cultured protein company stated, “our beef is beef, our chicken is chicken” .
The farmer bodies have said if this is the case then those products should be subject to the same regulatory system as them in order to maintain a level playing field.
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Farmers in the US have said that if companies involved in lab-grown proteins want to market their products as meat, they should be happy to follow the same rules as others in the industry.
It comes as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA) claims the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has moved to assert itself as the primary regulator of cell-cultured products. Currently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the main oversight body for emerging lab-grown products as well as farm produce.
In a letter to President Trump, a number of US farmer representative bodies, said: “Protecting the health and welfare of consumers is our top priority and this goal is achieved under a comprehensive regulatory system administered by the USDA."
Standards
"That system ensures all meat and poultry products are held to the same rigorous food safety and labelling standards. Anything less is a grave disservice to consumers and producers.”
The letter claims that at a recent public meeting held by the FDA, which excluded the USDA, a representative of a cell-cultured protein company stated, “our beef is beef, our chicken is chicken” .
The farmer bodies have said if this is the case then those products should be subject to the same regulatory system as them in order to maintain a level playing field.
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