{"id":24646,"date":"2024-11-26T19:32:36","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T17:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.carnisostenibili.it\/?p=24646"},"modified":"2024-11-26T19:32:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T17:32:36","slug":"the-eu-rejected-the-hungarian-ban-on-lab-grown-meat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.carnisostenibili.it\/en\/the-eu-rejected-the-hungarian-ban-on-lab-grown-meat\/","title":{"rendered":"The EU rejected the Hungarian ban on lab-grown meat"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Commission and some EU member states recently rejected Hungary’s proposed ban on lab-grown meat.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The European Commission and some EU member states recently rejected Hungary’s proposed ban on lab-grown meat<\/a>. As there are <\/span><\/span>concerns about the safety<\/b><\/span><\/span>, production, and marketing <\/span><\/span>of lab-grown meat<\/b><\/span><\/span>, the Hungarian proposal aimed to <\/span><\/span>protect human health and European culinary traditions<\/b><\/span><\/span> from new food technologies that are not properly regulated. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (<\/span><\/span>FAO<\/b><\/span><\/span>) and the World Health Organization (<\/span><\/span>WHO<\/b><\/span><\/span>) have developed a 146-page document<\/a> with a wealth of <\/span><\/span>scientific literature<\/b><\/span><\/span> to share current knowledge and inform consumers and all interested parties about all <\/span><\/span>potential hazards<\/b><\/span><\/span> that may occur during all the steps of <\/span><\/span>lab-grown meat production<\/b><\/span><\/span>, starting from cell procurement and selection, to <\/span><\/span>cell growth<\/b><\/span><\/span> and replication in <\/span><\/span>bioreactors<\/b><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The results of this meta-analysis confirmed <\/span><\/span>a list of 53 health hazards<\/b><\/span><\/span>, such as contamination with <\/span><\/span>heavy metals<\/b><\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>microplastics and nanoplastics<\/b><\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>allergens<\/b><\/span><\/span> that can cause severe allergic reactions, <\/span><\/span>chemical contaminants<\/b><\/span><\/span>, toxic components and <\/span><\/span>antibiotics<\/b><\/span><\/span>. FAO and WHO experts agreed that while many of these hazards are already present in some conventionally produced foods, others could be <\/span><\/span>particularly serious and unacceptable for human health<\/b><\/span><\/span>, such as the <\/span><\/span>potential carcinogenic effects<\/b><\/span><\/span> of these products.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The unknown effects of cell proliferation in bioreactors <\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Researchers are particularly <\/span><\/span>concerned about the mechanism of cell proliferation in bioreactors<\/b><\/span><\/span>, where there is a high <\/span><\/span>risk of uncontrolled mutations<\/b><\/span><\/span>, and the use of <\/span><\/span>growth factors and hormones<\/b><\/span><\/span>, either from serum or non-animal sources, used in bioreactors to induce and accelerate cell growth. There is a real risk that these <\/span><\/span>bioactive molecules<\/b><\/span><\/span> could interfere with and disrupt human metabolism and trigger the onset and <\/span><\/span>development of cancers<\/b><\/span><\/span>. In addition, experts are concerned about the <\/span><\/span>occurrence of allergens<\/b><\/span><\/span> resulting from the metabolism of <\/span><\/span>substances added during cell proliferation<\/b><\/span><\/span> and differentiation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Before lab-grown meat is placed on the market, food safety for consumers must be addressed<\/b><\/span><\/span>, and it must be ensured that it does not cause any damage to health. Yet the Commission declared that the<\/span><\/span> Hungarian draft law banning the production and sale of lab-grown meat <\/b><\/span><\/span>was unjustified and<\/span><\/span> potentially harmful to the EU single market<\/b><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Some agree with Hungary; some don’t<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

According to documents\u202fpublished<\/a>\u202fon the TRIS database, the Budapest law, notified to the EU on 10 July, breaches the <\/span><\/span>EU’s Novel Foods Regulation<\/b><\/span><\/span> and threatens the free movement of goods in the single market. Countries such as <\/span><\/span>Sweden, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic have also opposed the Hungarian proposal<\/b><\/span><\/span>, stating in comments and detailed opinions that there is no scientific evidence to support the ban.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Other European nations are not prepared or willing to accept lab-grown meat so easily<\/b><\/span><\/span>. These include <\/span><\/span>Austria, France, Italy, and nine other EU countries<\/b><\/span><\/span>, which will argue that lab-grown meat poses a threat to “real food production methods”, at least <\/span><\/span>until it is deemed safe<\/b><\/span><\/span>. For this reason, the <\/span><\/span>precautionary principle<\/b><\/span><\/span> should be applied, <\/span><\/span>as it is for medicines<\/b><\/span><\/span> because the process for lab-grown meat is pharmaceutical grade, not food grade. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to <\/span><\/span>protecting human health and the environment<\/b><\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>sustainable agricultural production<\/b><\/span><\/span> and preserving the traditional rural way of life justify the introduction of regulation. <\/span><\/span>It is not clear how the safety of cell-based technology can be guaranteed to avoid potential health risks<\/b><\/span><\/span> to consumers, and therefore, regulation is necessary. Traditional <\/span><\/span>livestock-based meat production<\/b><\/span><\/span> is paramount for the future of the domestic food economy, particularly for the <\/span><\/span>sustainability of food production<\/b><\/span><\/span> and the maintenance of the countryside. <\/span><\/span>Increased production of lab-grown meat may harm the agricultural sector and rural livelihoods<\/b><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What about the environment? <\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In terms of <\/span><\/span>environmental impact<\/b><\/span><\/span>, new research from Oxford University<\/a> shows that in the long term, <\/span><\/span>production in energy-intensive bioreactors could be worse for the environment than livestock in terms of CO2 emissions<\/b><\/span><\/span>. The latest calculations show that if we wanted to meet the additional demand for meat by 2030 exclusively with <\/span><\/span>lab-grown meat<\/b><\/span><\/span>, we would have to build <\/span><\/span>almost 150,000 bioreactors<\/b><\/span><\/span>, with the impact of producing this artificial product being <\/span><\/span>more than double<\/b><\/span><\/span> (352 million tonnes of CO2e) that of meeting the demand through natural <\/span><\/span>livestock farming<\/b><\/span><\/span> (150 million tonnes of CO2e). <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That is why <\/span><\/span>farmers’ organisations and PDO consortia from the Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain <\/b><\/span><\/span>are mobilising in opposition to the European Food Safety Authority (<\/span><\/span>EFSA<\/b><\/span><\/span>). The organisations oppose the updated <\/span><\/span>Novel Food Guidelines<\/b><\/span><\/span> published at the end of September, particularly the new application requirements for products derived from <\/span><\/span>cell cultures<\/b><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Collecting sufficient scientific data and information<\/b><\/span><\/span> necessary for exposure assessment and risk characterisation is essential to carry out <\/span><\/span>an adequate risk assessment of cell-based foods<\/b><\/span><\/span>. We still need to be very cautious as there is too little information and data on the true safety of lab-grown meat to make <\/span><\/span>informed decisions<\/b><\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission and some EU member states recently rejected Hungary’s proposed ban on lab-grown meat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[677],"tags":[6389,6388,6391,6390,4270,4803],"class_list":["post-24646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment-sustainability-en","tag-ban-on-lab-grown-meat","tag-bioreactors","tag-cell-based-foods","tag-eus-novel-foods-regulation","tag-lab-grown-meat","tag-livestock-farming"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t