Abstract
For commercial viability, cultivated meats require scientifically informed approaches to identify and manage hazards and risks. Here we discuss food safety in the rapidly developing field of cultivated meat as it shifts from lab-based to commercial scales. We focus on what science-informed risk mitigation processes can be implemented from neighbouring fields. We case-study pre-market safety assessments from UPSIDE Foods, GOOD Meat and Vow Group using publicly available dossiers. Quality control and safety assurance practices need to be established and standardized for cell lines and food-grade cell banks.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Ministry of Business and Innovation Smart Ideas grant (Catalyst: Strategic – New Zealand-Singapore Future Foods Research programme), Marsden Fund managed by Royal Society Te Apārangi, A*STAR Biomedical Research Council, A*STAR Bioprocessing Technology Institute, National Research Foundation Singapore, A*STAR AME Programmatic Fund, Singapore Food Agency, Good Food Institution Research Program, IAF, SMART CAMP, WisDM, Mechanobiology Institute of Singapore, AGS, Biomolecular Interaction Centre and The Riddet Institute.
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R.Z.B. and O.J.O. conceptualized the Perspective and wrote the original draft preparation. L.S.W.L., H.Z., S.K.N., A.J., H.J.F.T., A.W., L.J.D. and R.C.J.D provided feedback and edits. All authors contributed to editing and revising the paper. L.J.D., H.Y. and R.C.J.D. acquired research funding to allow this work to be carried out. All authors reviewed and approved the final paper.
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O.J.O. and L.J.D. are co-founders, shareholders and employees of Opo Bio Limited, a cell line development company that specializes in high-quality cell lines for cultivated meat. H.Y. is the non-executive chairman, co-founder, and shareholder of Ants Innovate Pte Ltd. The other authors declare no competing interests.
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Bennie, R.Z., Ogilvie, O.J., Loo, L.S.W. et al. A risk-based approach can guide safe cell line development and cell banking for scaled-up cultivated meat production. Nat Food 6, 25–30 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01085-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-024-01085-9
