Food safety aspects of cell-based food: report of the publication launch webinar, 7 April 2023

Overview

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) held a webinar to launch the publication entitled “Food safety aspects of cell-based food” published in April 2023.

The webinar included a lecture on the subject by the chairperson of the expert consultation, who introduced the contents of the FAO/WHO publication and presented the results of the first global food safety hazard identification of cell-based food. Experts reported that most of the hazards identified were common to conventional food products and emphasized the importance for food safety competent authorities to focus on the materials, inputs and equipment specific to cell-based food production. Two regulatory experts from the governments of Singapore and Qatar took part in the webinar to introduce the case studies of their respective countries’ regulatory frameworks. These case studies illustrated the commonly held idea that a food safety assessment is one of the first steps within the regulatory frameworks.

During panel discussions, experts from six countries agreed that food safety assessments are a crucial starting point. They highlighted the FAO/WHO publication as a key technical resource, especially for identifying potential hazards in cell-based food production.

The publication also contains information on nomenclature and useful advice on ways to effectively communicate this topic to the public. The webinar included an interactive discussion session with the participants, during which basic food safety and regulatory questions were raised.