Since the unveiling of the first lab-made meat hamburger in 2013, the cellular agriculture sector, in which biotechnology is used to make food products as opposed to animals, is burgeoning. With startup companies emerging around the US, it is unclear how the US government will regulate the new type of food production. Typically, the USDA regulates meat, poultry and eggs, while the FDA regulates food safety measures for additives as well as biologics. The emergence of cellular biotech will cause the lines separating the two agencies to blur, prompting certain leaders in the field to suggest the creation of a singular agency dedicated solely to agricultural biotech. Last year, the White House established a multiyear initiative to review how US agencies regulate agricultural biotech, while the National Academics of Science, Engineering and Medicine is currently working on a report on the future of agricultural biotech that is due for release at the end of 2016.

Source: Science