bluu seafood cultivated salmon served on a black plate with lemon rinds

Bluu Seafood's cultivated sashimi © Bluu GmbH/Wim Jansen

Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

New Food in Europe: CellAgri Portugal to Host Key Conference, Cellular Agriculture Europe Welcomes 12 Members

CellAgri Portugal, the country’s association for the development of cellular agriculture, announces its 2nd International Conference on the 4th and 5th of October at Fórum in Lisbon. The abstract submission deadline for interested collaborators is the 30th of July 2024. The conference aims to bring together leading scientists, entrepreneurs, and industry experts to explore the latest advancements in the field, from cultivated meat and seafood to leather and precision fermentation ingredients. Building on the success of its inaugural edition, CellAgri Portugal has organized a dynamic program featuring a lineup of renowned keynote speakers including: Dr. Sebastian Rakers, co-founder of the German cultivated seafood company BLUU Seafood Dr. Marianne Ellis Bath University’s CARMA – Cellular Agriculture Manufacturing Hub Dr. Elliot Swartz, principal cultivated meat scientist at the …

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Aleph Cuts cultivated steak

© Aleph Farms

Politics & Law

EU Ministers Against Cultivated Meat Debate at EU Council Using Misinformation Says GFI

Yesterday, at an EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, ministers gathered to discuss cultivated meat and its potential to benefit or threaten people and the environment. A coalition of 13 agricultural ministers, rather than 12 as initially reported by Euronews, led by Austria, France, and Italy, had sent a note to the EU council urging a revision of the regulatory approval framework for cultivated meat.  Supported by Czech, Cypriot, Greek, Hungarian, Luxembourg, Lithuanian, Maltese, Romanian, Slovak, and Spanish delegations, they raised concerns about the potential threat of cultivated meat to the economy, public health, and farmers while questioning its “naturalness” (fake meat) and sustainability. Austria’s Ministry of Health, which bears responsibility for food safety, has clarified that the note does not represent the stance of the Austrian government. A controversial …

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GOOD_Meat_Cultivated_Chicken_at_the_Butchery

© GOOD Meat

Politics & Law

Italian Agriculture Minister Declares “Slush” Cell-Based Foods a Threat to Italian Culinary Heritage

Italy‘s Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida told Reuters that lab-grown food is potentially dangerous for human health, calling it a “slush” that would never taste like natural meat or fish. A member of the Brothers of Italy party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, Lollobrigida leads the renamed “Ministry for Agriculture and Food Sovereignty”. Erasing our culture tied to the land Arguing that consumption of cell-based products has not been proven to be safe, Italy’s government approved a bill to ban the production and sale of “synthetic foods” in Italy this March. The ban, which still needs to pass parliament, aims to protect the country’s culture and food heritage from technological innovations.  In 2020, Singapore became the first country in the world to approve cultivated chicken made …

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Cultivated Chicken FDA

© GOOD Meat

Politics & Law

ProVeg and Cellular Agriculture Europe Respond to Italy’s War on Cultivated Meat

Two European organisations involved in food system awareness, ProVeg International and Cellular Agriculture Europe, have responded to Italy’s war on cultivated meat to protect the country’s food tradition. An approved bill that still needs to be passed by the parliament states that “lab food” in general, but particularly cultivated meat, is not guaranteed safe. Reportedly, the proposed text does not address the EU’s ability to approve a novel food such as cultivated meat. It has neither considered its environmental or economic implications nor contemplated the consumer’s right to choose. ProVeg and Cellular Agriculture Europe addressed the key issues omitted by the proposed measure in the name of heritage and tradition: Is cultivated meat safe? Cellular Agriculture Europe responded: “To enter the European Union (EU) market, food products must be …

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