Australia and New Zealand have taken another step towards cultivated meat approval after company Vow has its cultivated quail product signed off as Safe To Eat. Vow is Australia's largest cultured meat company, creating nutritious and sustainable meat from animal cells.
Earlier this year Vow became the first Australian cultivated meat company to apply for regulatory approval on its cultivated quail, a process that has this month concluded positively following months of scientific and safety assessments by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). The next stage of the process sees FSANZ share its findings publicly, opening up to consumers for feedback over a six week period.
Executive Director at Food Frontier, an Australian non-profit designing a sustainable food future, by creating alternative proteins in dairy and meat categories Dr. Simon Eassom, shared his positivity on the evaluation and Vow's work to date. "FSANZ is undertaking a comprehensive scientific evaluation to ensure foods made using Vow's cultured quail as a food ingredient are safe.
"Public confidence around the introduction of novel food categories is always a vital step in gaining acceptance. The ultimate success of Vow's application will pave the way for Australia and New Zealand to take a lead in this exciting new era of food production."
Vow uses cells from a rare Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica, to produce the cultivated, slaughter-free alternative meat from its plant which is one of the largest in the world carrying a 2,200L production capacity and the expectation of producing up to 30 tonnes of cell-based meat a year once sales are approved.
Find out more about Vow here.