Con esta autorización a través del Centro de Seguridad Alimentaria (CFS), Hong Kong se incorpora a los lugares que han autorizado la comercialización de productos elaborados con tecnología de cultivo celular, tras Singapur, EEUU e Israel. Un paso adelante para la industria de la biotecnología alimentaria, que marca un hito a favor de la industria local pero también del mercado global de proteínas alternativas, que ve en esta decisión una validación de la viabilidad comercial y regulatoria de este innovador producto.

El significado de la autorización en Hong Kong

La aprobación de la comercialización de foie cultivado en Hong Kong es un hecho relevante por varios motivos. En primer lugar, el territorio es una de las puertas de entrada a los mercados asiáticos, una región clave para el consumo de carne. Esta autorización podría estimular a otros países de la región a avanzar en sus propios marcos regulatorios.

En segundo lugar, la decisión de Hong Kong pone de relieve la confianza regulatoria en la seguridad y la calidad de la carne cultivada. Para lograr la autorización, los productores debieron superar rigurosos procesos de evaluación en materia de seguridad alimentaria, trazabilidad y control de contaminantes. Esta supervisión garantiza la inocuidad del producto, es decir, que las condiciones y medidas necesarias durante la producción, almacenamiento, distribución y preparación de alimentos aseguran que su consumo no representa un riesgo para la salud. Esto fortalece la percepción pública global sobre la seguridad alimentaria de esta tecnología, un aspecto muy relevante para la aceptación del consumidor en cualquier parte del mundo.

Además, la autorización podría estimular la inversión en el sector de la carne cultivada, lo que daría lugar a más investigaciones, avances tecnológicos y economías de escala que, a su vez, reducirían los costos de producción. Sin duda, una gran noticia que celebramos todo el sector.

Con el respaldo regulatorio de una región tan influyente, se allana el camino para una mayor aceptación mundial, atrayendo inversión y generando empleo en la industria biotecnológica. Este es, sin duda, un hito que merece ser celebrado.

La entrada <strong>Hong Kong se suma a los países que dan luz verde a la carne cultivada</strong> se publicó primero en Bio.Tech.Foods..

Singapore, the first

In December 2020, this Asian country became the first in the world to regulate the commercialization of cultivated meat following analysis by the Singapore Food Safety Agency, which ruled that cultivated meat was suitable for human consumption. To achieve this approval, the documentation studied by the Agency included information on the purity, identity and stability of – in this case – chicken cells during the manufacturing process, as well as a detailed description of the manufacturing process that demonstrated that the chicken cultivated complied with the quality controls of the rigorous food safety control system. The first menu with chicken meat from cell culture was served at the 1880 restaurant and its commercialization was later extended to other restaurants and retail establishments in the country.

USA, the big step

A few months ago, it was the US FDA and the Department of Agriculture who authorized the consumption and sale of cultivated meat in this country, undoubtedly constituting a giant step for the sector. It should be noted that the authorization is given for a specific product that a company presents and that an application must be submitted for each product that you want to commercialize.

The green light was first obtained by the FDA, in November 2022, which carried out an exhaustive analysis of the product and its manufacturing process, concluding that “foods composed of, or containing, cultivated chicken cell material resulting from the defined production […] are as safe as comparable foods produced by other methods”.

In June, cultivated meat received final authorization from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for labeling, obtaining the «inspection registration», approved after a rigorous process that includes the evaluation of the food safety system of the company that wants commercialize the product.

The well-known Spanish chef José Andrés will be one of the first to include cultivated meat in the menu he offers in his restaurant in Washington.

First movements in Europe

The Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK are the countries that have taken the lead in Europe. The regulatory agencies of these two countries have already begun to evaluate each commercialization application they have received, a process that can take between a year or two.

In Holland, what has been authorized by the Government of this country is the tasting of cultivated meat, which must be done under certain parameters and protocols, since the EFSA has not yet authorized its consumption in the European Union. However, this authorization represents a first gesture of welcome to cultivated meat, although we will still have to wait a while before it can be commercialized in the countries of the European Union.

10 years have passed since a team of Dutch scientists led by Mark Post, from Maastrich University, presented the first hamburger made from cultivated beef meat in London. Since then, research has allowed a dazzling development of this promising system for generating animal protein, which has already been endorsed by important regulatory agencies and is on the verge of industrial scaling, increasingly closer to consumers being able to opt for cultivated meat on the shelves of their supermarkets.

La entrada Regulatory milestones of cultivated meat se publicó primero en Bio.Tech.Foods..