Cultivated quail: Vow Foods gets “safe to eat” greenlight from Australian food standards regulators

12 Dec 2023 --- After months of safety investigations, Australian food tech innovator Vow Foods has received authorization that cultured quail is safe to eat, following an application to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) earlier this year.

FSANZ is now sharing its findings as part of the public consultation process, giving the public its landmark opportunity to provide feedback about Vow’s cultured quail product as a first example in Australia and New Zealand from the emerging field of cell-based meat production.

The public has six weeks to provide input into what is potentially “one of the most innovative foods we have seen in the country in a long time,” according to Vow Foods.

Globally, Singapore led the way in the year 2020 by becoming the first country to approve a cultivated meat product, with the US following as the second in June 2023, while Australia and New Zealand have four companies working in the cultivated meat ecosystem.  

“Exciting step”
Food Frontier’s executive director Dr. Simon Eassom, congratulates FSANZ on its thorough evaluation of the safety of Vow’s product so far. “FSANZ is undertaking a comprehensive scientific evaluation to ensure foods made using Vow’s cultured quail as a food ingredient are safe.”

Approval of cultivated meat in Australia and New Zealand could stimulate investment and innovation in the field of cellular agriculture. (Credit Vow Foods)“This is an exciting step, particularly because, as reinforced currently at COP28, innovative food technologies are going to become essential means of meeting the growing demand for meat without adding further to ecological and environmental degradation.” 

Eassom sees cultivated meat a “one of the three pillars of alternative protein production” with the potential to provide significant protein sources without the impacts that our current food systems have on the atmosphere, water use and eutrophication, as well as land use and the deforestation required to produce feedstock.

“Once cultivated meat technology advances to a scale that is required for commercial viability, it promises to be a viable way to help meet the increasing global demand for meat,” he envisions. 

A boost for economy?
Consultancy firm McKinsey and Company projects that by 2030, the global value of cultivated meat could reach up to US$25 billion, with the alternative proteins sector potentially contributing US$1.1 trillion to the global economy and generating up to 10 million new jobs by 2050.

Countries around the world, such as Singapore, the Netherlands, the US, Israel, and more recently, the UK, have heavily invested in cultivated meat technology and development to shore up food security. 

Eassom further elaborates: “We don’t expect cultivated meat to ever replace conventional meat, but with the growing global population and increasing demand for protein, there is room for both. In its call for public submissions, FSANZ proposes a number of labeling requirements for cultivated meat to avoid consumer confusion. 

“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.”

Notably, approval of a cultivated meat product in Australia and New Zealand could stimulate investment and innovation in the emerging field of cellular agriculture, as companies around the world look to Australia and New Zealand as a potential production base, fostering economic investment and advancements in food system innovation for the region.

FSANZ evaluates each novel food product on a case-by-case basis — approval would not apply carte blanche across all cultivated meat products.

Edited by Elizabeth Green