USA - The Regulation of Lab-grown Meat Under Existing Jurisdictional Authority
USA
Jun 22, 2022
As novel emerging biotechnology, cellular meat presents a multitude of regulatory issues. With no legally binding regulatory structure in place, the threshold issue remains: what regulatory scheme should be used to govern cellular meat, consistent with the existing legal framework? The way that cellular meat is regulated will be a critical factor in the product’s acceptance by consumers.
Section I of this article introduces relevant background information on cellular meat, including how cellular meat is made, its environmental and public health benefits, its negative aspects, and regulatory issues. Section II considers the existing legal framework, including current statutory authorities and regulatory programs for human food. Section III then analyzes the question of
which federal agency or agencies should regulate cellular meat, from two perspectives: first, which agencies are the most appropriate regulators based on existing statutes and regulatory authority?; and second, which agencies are the most appropriate from a policy perspective?