Cell‐based food needs collaborative efforts for safe production and suitable consumption

Cell-based food is developed and grown in a controlled environment by taking cells from living organisms and processing through cell culture proliferation (FDA, 2023). A detailed overview of the production process of cell-based food is illustrated in Figure 1a. Cell-based food production is a sustainable alternative to natural resources and conventional agricultural systems (FAO, 2018). Despite its sustainability, several challenges need to be addressed, including cost (Figure 1b), scaling up, regulatory approvals, consumer acceptance, taste and texture, environmental impacts, supply chain, and above all, its safety. As the demand and commercial production is increasing rapidly over the years, the developing trends to adopt cell-based food have extended globally, as illustrated in Figure 1c,d, which shows 371 startups established in different countries (StartUsinsights, 2023) and regulatory framework implementations by different regions and continents (WHO, 2023), respectively. The urge to address the inevitable question of end consumers related to cell-based food production is food safety. (a) Overview of cell-based food production. (b) Global investment as per (WHO, 2023). (c) Global startups for cell-based food (StartUsinsights, 2023). (d) Countries in the process of implementing regulatory frameworks for cell-based food production (WHO, 2023). Hazard analysis is the first step for analyzing food safety and risk assessment. According to the (WHO, 2023) report on cell-based food, the risk assessment is discussed in four steps: cell sourcing followed by cell growth and production alongwith cell harvesting and food processing. During the production cycle, the potential risks and hazards are discussed below (Figure 2a). The hazards during cell sourcing are vulnerable to exist at biopsy and cell culturing stages. The production and harvesting phases of cell-based food are vulnerable to exposure of chemical contaminants (toxicity), microplastics, heavy metals, pathogens and food allergens. During food processing, the physiochemical transformation of food components, structural and chemical changes, and foreign object contamination are hazardous agents. Other major hazard concerns are cell line identity, modification and storing cells, allergens, shelf life, and exposure assessment. Despite considerable technical development in recent years, cell-based food has not yet reached the commercial manufacturing phase. As the global food industry rapidly develops, it is crucial to establish regulatory structures and frameworks that assure the safe production of cell-based food and to enact a legislation to standardize terminologies and labeling to commercialize such foods. (a): Possible hazards to food safety at different stages of cell-based food, (b) purposed generic regulatory framework of cell-based food products. The current trends of product risk assessment in cell-based food around the globe make it inevitable to evaluate it as per dedicated food rules and laws (Figure 2b). Labeling and nutritional information on the final cell-based food product package are intended to be clear, intelligible, and not deceptive for customers. These improvements will be helpful for the rest of the world to adopt when assessing risk factors, whether the evaluation of cell-based food products is feasible in accordance with their food laws or whether unique rules need to be devised for cell-based food products (WHO, 2023). Close collaboration between producers and regulators is needed to develop and implement safety standards. The collaboration between producers and food service industries is required to ensure that cell-based food is integrated into menus and accessible to consumers. Collaboration among consumers, advocates, and policymakers is critically needed to increase awareness and support for cell-based food products. In addition, there is an inevitable need for legislation and laws, collaborative efforts that include education and outreach to help consumers understand the potential benefits and safety of cell-based food, and advocacy efforts to promote policies that support the development and adoption of these products. Global debates on these topics and sharing experiences and best practices are essential for developing appropriate and effective regulatory systems. Muhammad Waseem: Conceptualization; Methodology; Writing – original draft. Yaqoob Majeed: Conceptualization; Methodology; Writing – review & editing. This work received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. The authors have no conflict of interest. Not applicable. Data are openly available in public repositories.