The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has confirmed it aims to introduce changes early next year to speed up and 'modernise' the way foods like cultivated meat and precision-fermented products are brought to market.

The FSA announced the timetable for the initial reforms at its board meeting today (18 September), following a consultation and approval by new government ministers.

The plans, which apply to ‘regulated products’ including animal feed additives, food flavourings and some alt-proteins, were originally announced in March.

The changes will see the creation of a new public register of regulated products, replacing the current system, which requires a Statutory Instrument to be laid before new products can be placed on the market – a procedure the FSA estimates can add up to six months to an approval period which currently takes around two and a half years.

It would also free up the FSA’s capacity by removing the requirement for products already on the market to be re-authorised after several years – which will also benefit other food sectors. According to the FSA, 22% of regulated product applications are reauthorisations, many of which are for animal feed.

The FSA has stressed that it will still conduct a thorough and evidence-based assessment of new products’ safety and nutritional value before they can be sold in the UK, and ministers will continue to make final decisions.

In a statement provided to The Cell Base, the FSA said: "Following agreement by our Board earlier this year, the new Government has now approved our proposals for two improvements to our market authorisation system for regulated food and feed products. These are the removal of renewal requirements for products already authorised as safe and allowing authorisations to come into effect following the ministerial decision, and then be published in an official register, rather than by secondary legislation."

"These improvements are purely administrative, can be made quickly, and will have immediate benefits for consumers and businesses by reducing the time it takes to review and potentially authorise new products. There will be no reduction of food standards or safety as a result of the reforms we are proposing to make."

The UK uses a similar regulatory framework to that of the EU, but concerns have been raised about the increasing size of the agency’s post-Brexit work – with officials earlier this year saying, ‘without urgent action, we will be unable to keep pace with this growing caseload’.

The Good Food Institute (GFI) Europe has welcomed the changes, which it says “could benefit a wider range of food sectors and consumers while ensuring rigorous safety standards are maintained”. The GFI stresses that more ambitious measures are needed to ensure the UK does not risk falling behind as a global alternative protein leader.

GFI Europe has called on the government to introduce more wide-ranging reforms including producing accessible guidance for alternative protein companies planning to submit applications, sharing information about risk assessments with other trusted international regulators and designing a new system for pre-market tastings.

The nonprofit also urged ministers to approve the FSA’s bid to create a regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat in next month’s budget to ensure the body can accelerate its understanding of the food safety aspects of cultivated meat.

Linus Pardoe, UK policy manager at GFI Europe, said: “It’s positive to see the Food Standards Agency taking much-needed steps to modernise its process while continuing to enforce one of the world’s most robust regulatory systems – but these measures should just be the start”.

Pardoe continued: “Alternative proteins can play a key role in boosting food security and growing the UK’s green economy. But to deliver these benefits while ensuring consumers can have confidence in new foods, the government must urgently bring forward more ambitious proposals such as collaborating on risk assessments with international partners and establishing a regulatory sandbox for cultivated meat.”

Top image: British start-up Ivy Farm's cultivated pork sausage

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