An initial review of public comments on the lab-grown meat regulation issue showed encouraging signs, according to NCBA. Fake meat activists submitting comments support USDA oversight and science-based labeling.
During discussions on the issue last year, activists opposed daily USDA inspections and were committed to labeling products as “clean meat.” Comments recently filed by fake meat activists and companies fall more in line with NCBA’s position favoring USDA jurisdiction over lab-grown meat inspection and labeling.
In its comments, NCBA expressed concern with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) having primary regulatory authority over fake meat. During a presentation last summer at Flint Hills Beef Fest in Emporia, NCBA Director of Government Affairs Danielle Beck said FDA might allow fake meat manufacturers to use a clean meat label, implying real meat is somehow inferior.