On Friday, November 16, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Perdue and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Gottlieb announced a joint regulatory framework to oversee cell cultured products. Under the proposed framework, FDA plans to oversee cell collection, cell banks, cell growth, and cell differentiation. USDA will oversee cell harvest, production, and labeling of food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry. While the technical details of the framework remain undefined, the agencies have expressed their view that no legislation on the topic is necessary because the agencies have statutory authority to regulate cell cultured food products derived from livestock and poultry.
This announcement comes three weeks after USDA and FDA hosted a joint public meeting on the topic, and before comments on the meeting are due. The agencies also announced they continue to seek public comment on the issue and will extend the deadline to submit comments until December 26, 2018.