Is there already lab-grown meat (in vitro meat) in the EU?

The term "lab meat" (in vitro meat) refers to meat that is produced in vitro under laboratory conditions. These are alternative processes intended to make meat consumption more environmentally friendly and animal-friendly. In response to the inquiry, the German Federal Government stated that a process for producing meat from cell cultures was approved for the first time in Singapore in 2020. However, no application for approval of lab meat as a novel food has been received by the European Commission, and therefore no application is currently being processed by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Since no such application is pending, the German Federal Government cannot make any statements about possible risks to consumers from lab meat.

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is currently supporting the research association "CELLZERO Meat," which is developing an alternative process for producing cell-based meat without the use of fetal calf serum. However, industrial-scale production processes for lab-grown meat have not yet been established. In contrast, last week the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its initial assessment of a food product made from cultured animal cells by the company "Upside" without objections. Further approval of the processing facility and an inspection permit from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Drug Administration (USDA-FSIS) for the entire operation are required. Furthermore, the food itself must undergo an approval process to receive the necessary food label. The U.S. is therefore already further ahead in this regard.