The decision follows on last month’s public meeting held in Washington to discuss how best to regulate the use of livestock and poultry cell lines to develop cell-cultured products.
Taking that feedback into account, USDA and FDA officials discussed the issues and concluded both agencies should oversee production of cell-cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry.
Under this framework, FDA will manage cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation. USDA will take over during the cell harvest stage, and then will oversee production and labeling of cell-based meat products.
Meanwhile, the agencies say they’re ironing out technical details such as how the two agencies will collaborate and share information while carrying out their respective roles.
In a statement, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and FDA Commissioner Scott Gottleib said, “USDA and FDA are confident that this regulatory framework can be successfully implemented and assure the safety of these products. Because our agencies have the statutory authority necessary to appropriately regulate cell-cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry the Administration does not believe that legislation on this topic is necessary.”
For video of last month’s public meeting on the topic, click here.
The public comment period has been extended to Dec. 26.