CFA and the Center for Science in the Public Interest submitted the following letter to Congressional leaders opposing Section 736 of the House Agriculture Appropriations bill. Section 736 would require that the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) “issue regulations prescribing the type and frequency of inspection required for the manufacture and processing” of meat and poultry products made through cell technology, often called cell-based or cultured meat. This directive would undermine recent regulatory cooperation agreements announced by USDA and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It could also result in a gap in the food safety framework for cell-based meat, given that FDA has greater expertise in biotechnology that would be particularly useful in controlling risks related to cell culture, including risks related to contamination and to the use of novel additives and ingredients.
