Quotes from Southeast AgNET, February 22, 2024
Cell-cultured meat is progressing rapidly, but so are the challenges of how to label it. During the recent USDA Agriculture Outlook Forum session on this topic, someone asked about the extent of labeling requirements.
He wondered, “Will there be a need for different labels for cultured and conventional meat in the future? And will there be a possibility of using terms like grass fed or free range for cell cultured products derived from such animals?” He added, “Is this what we can expect from labeling in the long term?”
The answer to this question depends on the situation, replied Brian Ronholm, who was a speaker at the session, and is the Director of Food Policy at Consumer Reports. “From a marketing perspective, it is up to a company to decide if it wants to go down that path or not. On the other hand, from a consumer’s standpoint, it seems to me that it would be misleading. You may claim that the cells come from an animal that grazed on grass or roamed outdoors, or whatever, but in the end, the product you have is grown in a laboratory.”
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