The UK’s Ivy Farm Technologies has partnered with high-end department store Fortnum & Mason to develop what is said to be the world’s first scotch egg containing cultivated meat, stating it expects its cultivated sausage meat to be available to consumers by the beginning of 2025.
According to The Guardian, Ivy Farm had threatened to relocate to the US if cultivated meat was not approved for sale in the UK, leading to talks with the government. The company has now been told to expect Food Standards Authority (FSA) approval by the end of the year, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said to be in favour of granting approval.
The product, sampled last week at a panel regarding the future of meat production to highlight the environmental impact of industrial farming, is not vegan, as the centre is made from conventionally produced quail eggs. However, the use of Ivy Farm’s cultivated meat as centrepiece of a panel with an institution such as F&M is surely an indicator of change to come.
Scotch eggs are a traditional British snack first invented by Fortnum & Mason in 1738, consisting of a soft-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat and covered in breadcrumbs. Created exclusively for the panel in Fortnum & Mason’s Food & Drink Studio, the company states that there are no current plans to sell the scotch egg at F&M and that was solely for the purposes of discussion between selected food tech companies and traditional agricultural businesses at the event.
Streamlined process
There have been indications for some time that the UK government is looking to streamline the approval process for cultivated meat, as the country no longer needs to follow the EU’s regulatory framework after Brexit. In November, the FSA issued new guidance on the authorisation process for cultivated meat in England and Wales, including recommendations regarding product safety, labelling, and tasting trials.
The UK government announced in December that it would be granting £2 billion in funding to biotechnology, including cultivated meat production. Just two weeks ago, it was reported that the government was surveying cultivated meat companies in preparation to make regulatory changes.
”We are currently considering future changes to the regulated products approval process across all regimes, and we will be discussing this reform further at our March Board meeting,” said Natasha Smith, Deputy Director of Food Policy at the FSA. “We continue to engage with the cell-cultivated products industry to gain their insights about how to best manage applications and to set expectations about the approval process, including timelines and the type of information that applicants should provide when submitting a product dossier.”
Fortnum & Mason’s Hatty Cary, Food & Drink Studio Producer, comments: “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with Ivy Farm to create the world’s first cultivated meat scotch egg, having launched our original almost 300 years ago. Fortnum’s has always embraced innovation, but our recently opened Food & Drink Studio allows us to truly place ourselves at the heart of conversation and discovery. It has been fascinating to examine what the future of meat production might look like by bringing together voices from the world of technology, agriculture and hospitality, and experimenting with such cutting-edge science.”
Emma Lewis, Chief Commercial & Product Officer at Ivy Farm, added: “Fortnum & Mason is an iconic heritage brand in the UK, so to recreate the scotch egg, an equally as iconic British snack, with our cultivated meat is an exciting opportunity to showcase how we can keep eating the nutritious and delicious meat that we love, but made in a different way.
“Cultivated meat uses cutting-edge technology born out of Oxford University to create the delicious meaty layer of the infamous scotch egg, a staple snack enjoyed in picnics and pubs all over Britain. Once we have scaled up, collaborations and partnerships like this will be pivotal as we look to introduce consumers to cultivated meat products on a wider scale, building acceptance in their quality and taste, and an understanding of the environmental benefits they can provide.”
The panel discussion, titled ‘The Future of Meat: farmed, lab-grown or phased out?’, took place on Wednesday 31 January at Fortnum & Mason’s Food & Drink Studio.
