⚖️ Regulatory updates

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FDA moves ahead with proposals to amend GRAS regulations

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• The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plans to publish a rule (expected this month) requiring mandatory submission of Generally Recognised as Safe (GRAS) notices for new food ingredients or additives, eliminating the self-affirmation pathway.
• The proposal, part of the spring 2026 agenda, would exempt ingredients already listed as GRAS or with a “no questions letter,” but faces questions over the FDA’s legal authority and potential court challenges.
• If approved, future novel ingredients would face longer regulatory timelines.

**Green Queen & FoodDive & NutraIngredients**

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Recent regulatory updates: Mid-July 2025 → Mid-October 2025

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Cultivated meat regulation advances globally, with recent approvals expanding the category from human to pet food applications:

• Gourmey, a French cultivated meat startup, announced that its application for approval has been validated by both the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), claiming to be the world’s first cultivated meat company to reach this milestone in Great Britain.
• Friends & Family Pet Food Company, a US-based startup, received regulatory approval in Singapore to sell cultivated meat for dogs and cats, claiming Asia’s first clearance, with inaugural treats containing 65–70% cultured cells.

🇺🇸 Regulatory activity accelerates in the US, with several precision and biomass fermentation startups securing or advancing GRAS recognition for novel fats, proteins, and sweeteners:

• Nourish Ingredients, an Australian startup, received GRAS status from the Flavour and Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA) in the US for its precision-fermented fat “Tastilux”.
• Enifer, a Finnish startup, secured self-affirmed GRAS status for its mycoprotein PEKILO® produced by biomass fermentation, enabling collaborations with US food manufacturers for use in plant-based foods, sports nutrition, and healthy snacks.
• Onego Bio, a Finnish startup producing egg proteins via precision fermentation, received a “no questions” letter from the FDA confirming GRAS status for its Bioalbumen ingredient.
• Oobli, a US-based startup developing precision-fermented sweet proteins, received its third “no questions” letter from the FDA for brazzein-54, following brazzein-53 and monellin, confirming GRAS status as a sweetener for food and beverage applications.
• Amai Proteins, an Israeli startup, submitted a GRAS notice to the US FDA for its monellin protein produced via precision fermentation.
• Verley, a French startup producing precision-fermented whey proteins, received a “no questions” letter from the FDA, confirming GRAS status for two functional ingredients (FermWhey Native and MicroStab).
• Geltor, a US-based startup using precision fermentation, received a “no-questions” letter from the FDA, confirming GRAS status for its animal-free collagen, enabling its use in beauty-from-within, functional food, and supplement products.

See regulatory updates of Q2 2025 here

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💼 Government support + tariff evolution

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China emerges as global leader in cultivated meat patents and innovation support

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• The Good Food Institute found that Chinese organisations make up 8 of the top 20 patent applicants for cultivated meat, with 160 unique patent families covering cell lines, growth media and scaffolding.

• Chinese universities, companies, and public institutions collectively filed more cultivated meat patents than all those in the US and Europe combined.
• Government support is accelerating the sector, through investments, five-year action plans, new innovation centres and work on international food safety standards.

Comment: this table is quite impressive and confirms that there is a “black hole” about what’s happening around disruptive innovation in China beyond scientific publications. Chinese (and South Korean) universities and companies dominate this ranking even if we don’t hear about them very often. As food biotechnologies are getting prioritised by the Chinese government, we could expect an increase in funding towards companies applying the research coming out of these labs.

Green Queen

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Australia strengthens fermentation infrastructure with pilot-scale facility for precision-fermented ingredient production

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• The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) completed an $18M upgrade of its facility making it Australia’s largest pilot-scale fermentation site for food and bioproduct innovation.
• The facility will support companies developing precision-fermented ingredients, including a $5.5M project with Australian startup Eclipse Ingredients to commercialise human lactoferrin.

Vegconomist

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