Cell based food and precision fermentation

Cell based food production involves using cells isolated from animals, plants or microorganisms to produce food products, ingredients or additives. The products are often comparable to the existing animal products, such as meat, poultry, aquatic products, dairy products and eggs.

Precision fermentation often refers to a process that utilizes microorganisms such as bacteria, yeast or fungi to produce specific target products through controlled production systems. A wide range of products such as proteins, enzymes, vitamins or other bioactive substances can be produced through precision fermentation.

As the global demand for proteins and specific nutrients grows, many in the agrifood sector are looking into opportunities to expand the scope of diverse food‑production systems that can be profitable, safe, environmentally sustainable and nutritionally sound. Therefore, many food safety authorities are working to address the potential food‑safety implications of alternative food‑production systems so that appropriate regulatory frameworks can be identified to protect consumers. FAO, together with food‑safety competent authorities, engages many other stakeholders to collaborate in this space to advance our collective knowledge.

Activities

Stakeholder meeting in Canada (October 2024): FAO, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), held a stakeholder roundtable meeting on cell based food production and precision fermentation in Toronto, Canada, on 10 October 2024. The meeting report will be published in 2025.

Informal Technical Working Group (TWG): FAO facilitates the TWG for government‑sector regulatory experts to exchange information in the area of food safety aspects of cell‑based food production and precision fermentation. The TWG has expanded over the years and currently includes the European Union and 34 countries, namely: Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran (the), Israel, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Oman, Qatar, Republic of Korea (the), Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sudan (the), Switzerland, Thailand, United Arab Emirates  (the), United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the), United States of America (the), Uruguay and Yemen. Should your country be interested in joining, contact your respective Codex Contact Point, who can contact the FAO facilitator.

WHO resources

Codex resources