French startup Gourmey has announced that it has submitted an application to European Union regulators for authorization for its cultured foie gras. This is the first application to sell cultured meat in the EU bloc. The French company has also submitted applications for marketing authorization in Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Italy banned both the production and marketing of this type of product in 2023, with the support of agricultural organizations, but the law is being contested by vegan organizations as well as a part of the scientific world and companies (including Italian ones), who would like to invest in this sector.
What Happens Now With Cultured Meat
To be marketed in the 27 Member States, cultured meat must be approved by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). The reference rules are contained in the Novel Food Regulation, a regulatory framework considered among the most stringent in the world in terms of food safety. The evaluation process includes a thorough examination of both the safety and nutritional value of the product. The expected duration of the procedure is at least 18 months. Only if approved, the product can be marketed on the market of the countries of the European bloc.
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There is therefore no equivalence between the application for authorization and the marketing of the product. The European regulation on novel foods also includes an assessment of the potential social and economic impacts, which also involves representatives of EU governments. The first state to authorize cultured meat was Singapore in December 2020. Two “cultured chicken” products were subsequently authorized in the United States. On the European continent, however, the first request was submitted in 2023 by the Israeli startup Aleph Farms, which submitted a request for authorization for “cultured beef” in a laboratory to the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
The Controversies Over Conventional Foie Gras
Due to the practice of force-feeding animals, conventional foie gras production has been a subject of debate in Europe for years. While some countries, including Italy, Poland, Denmark and Germany, have banned its production, in France this product remains a popular and widely consumed food. Italy, although it has banned its production, still authorizes its consumption, in compliance with the principles of the single market.
Italy’s Opposition to Cultured Meat
In turn, “cultured meat”, erroneously defined as “synthetic meat”, has aroused great opposition, especially in Italy, both from agricultural organizations and from the government. The Minister of Agriculture, Francesco Lollobrigida, has repeatedly expressed his opposition to “synthetic meat”, contesting the food model that underlies it, which would be incompatible with the characteristics of food production in Italy. In November 2023, the Italian government approved a law that prohibits the production and marketing of cultured meat. Organizations that promote this food as a valid alternative to conventional meat, consider it positive both in terms of safeguarding animal welfare and environmental protection.
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According to the Good Food Institute, a nonprofit organization that advocates for increased consumption of vegetarian and vegan foods, the Italian law “was not preceded by any scientific assessment of the aspects related to human health, or the environmental impact of the food.” However, these issues are raised in the government’s explanatory report and mentioned among the purposes that would have made the ban necessary. “As some European ministers have recently emphasized, the protection of traditional products must not become an obstacle to food innovation and free consumer choice,” commented Francesca Gallelli, consultant for the Good Food Institute Europe.
Potentially unenforceable law
“The application by French start-up Gourmey demonstrates that food innovation and culinary tradition can reinforce each other, offering foie gras that meets consumer demands and protects animal welfare,” the consultant highlighted. The Italian law risks being “flawed and potentially unenforceable”, having failed to comply with the coordinated procedural process envisaged by the European Union. “It is urgent that the law be repealed so that Italian researchers, consumers and businesses are not forced to navigate uncertainty. Equality between European citizens and fair competition within the single market must be guaranteed,” the Good Food Institute highlighted in a note.
