Novel Food Ingredients: Challenges and Opportunities in Regulating an Emerging Industry

Advances in biotechnology, cell culture techniques and other innovative technologies are leading the way to the development of a variety of novel foods and new ways of producing and processing food for human and animal consumption. As is often the case with emerging technologies and new industry sectors, questions have been raised about how well government regulatory systems in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world are equipped to efficiently oversee these new products in a manner that ensures product safety and consumer confidence while not overburdening or overly-delaying the introduction of novel products.

This presentation will provide an overview of U.S. and international food and animal feed regulation. The talk will examine how novel foods and food ingredients are currently assessed under these regulatory systems, and how successfully these regulations have been able to address foods produced by traditional biotechnology processes. Case studies will be presented to review how regulations may affect new food products, including the uncertainty and controversy that have arisen regarding U.S. regulatory jurisdiction over meat products produced by cellular agriculture, as well as other novel technologies including the use of GMO plants in food, the use of microbial biomass in animal feed, and the introduction of new dietary supplements, including those derived from hemp or cannabis.

The need for existing regulatory programs to adapt to address new technologies often creates uncertainty among industry and other stakeholders. On the other hand, this also presents an opportunity for all stakeholders to participate in the development of rational, science-based policies that allow novel products to come to market under conditions where consumers are ensured of safety.