AG INSIGHT Comments sought on labeling meat, poultry products made from animal cells
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to solicit comments on the labeling of meat and poultry products made using cultured cells derived from animals under FSIS jurisdiction. FSIS will use the comments in connection with regulatory requirements for the labeling of such food products. According to Sandra Eskin, deputy undersecretary for food safety, the notice is an important step to ensure the appropriate labeling of meat and poultry products made using animal cell culture technology. In early 2019, USDA and FDA announced a formal agreement to jointly oversee the production of human food products made using animal cell culture technology and derived from the cells of livestock and poultry. The goal was to ensure that such products are safe, unadulterated and truthfully labeled. Under the agreement, FDA will oversee cell collection, growth, and differentiation of cells and will transfer oversight at the cell harvest stage to FSIS. FSIS will then oversee the cell harvest, processing, packaging, and labeling of products. FDA and FSIS also agreed to develop joint principles for the labeling of products made using cell culture technology under their respective labeling ju8
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risdictions. Most fish and seafood fall under FDA’s jurisdiction, whereas meat, poultry and some fish are under FSIS’s authority. Current FSIS regulations requiring sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems are immediately applicable and sufficient to ensure the safety of products cultured from the cells of livestock and poultry, the agency believes. FSIS already has received thousands of comments on the topic in response to a 2018 joint public meeting with FDA regarding two petitions for rulemaking (from the United States Cattlemen’s Association and Harvard Law School Animal Law and Policy Clinic). The agency, however, needs specific types of comments and information for developing labeling regulations. Comments on specific topics in rulemaking related to labeling include consumer expectations about the labeling of these products, especially in light of the nutritional composition and qualities such as taste, color, odor or texture; names for the products that would be neither false nor misleading; economic data; any consumer research related to labeling nomenclature for products made using animal cell culture technology. The ANPR also discusses how FSIS will generally evaluate labels for these products if they are submitted before the agency completes rulemaking. Those wanting to view ANPR details can visit the FSIS website at www.fsis.usda.gov/policy/federal-register-rulemaking/federal-register-rules.
