Foodlaw-Reading
Dr David Jukes, The University of Reading, UK
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Council Minutes, 23 January 2024
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Council Paper (5469/1/24 REV 1): The CAP’s role on safeguarding high-quality and primary farm-based food production The Council paper can be seen on the Council document web pages (click on image). |
At the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting on the 23rd Janaury, there was a discussion based on the above Council Paper. For this agenda item, the minutes of the meeting state:
The following is the text of the speach given as Opening Remarks by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the Council Meeting
Chair, Ministers,
I welcome the initiative from Austria, France and Italy to discuss this developing issue.
The note pinpoints issues beyond food safety that we should be prepared to address together.
Doing so will deepen our understanding of the potential impact that lab-grown meat has on health, the environment and society.
On food safety, we are on very solid ground. The Novel Food Regulation makes sure of that in two key ways.
Firstly, it makes sure that human health and consumer interests are very well protected in a properly functioning internal market.
Novel foods undergo a demanding pre-market safety and nutritional assessment by independent scientists from the European Food Safety Authority.
We of course know that we have for the moment not received any request to authorise lab-grown meat as novel food.
At the Commission's request, the Authority is now revising its guidance on novel foods, introducing state-of-the-art provisions for the safety and nutritional assessment of lab-grown and cell-based foods.
Secondly, the Regulation makes sure that novel foods are clearly designated and labelled, so that consumers can make informed choices and clearly identify what they are buying and consuming.
As well as safety, the Member States raise ethical, socioeconomic and environmental issues in their note.
These are legitimate issues that may be part of the decision-making process for novel food authorisations.
Data and evidence will, as always, be the basis for our work. And we know that for the moment, data on lab-grown meat is scarce and does not allow for meaningful assessments in key areas like emissions, environment or pricing.
Through the Horizon Europe programme we are doing exactly that - supporting research and development projects to build the necessary knowledge-base on cell-based food.
Our role of course is to ensure that our food, including novel food, is safe.
Consumers must be empowered with clear information to make their own choices.
And we must stress that ultimately it is up to consumers to decide what they eat.
In Europe, our culinary culture are a fundamental part of our European Way of Life.
That cannot change.
