Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture submitted proposals to ministries for clarifying the country’s response to ‘cultivated food’, calling for public-private collaboration

　The research organization for policy-making for cultivated food, the Japan Association for Cellular Agriculture (“JACA”, located in Chuo, Tokyo), submitted its proposal on October 21 (Monday) to the following government officials of Consumer Affairs Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. The proposal is titled ‘Enhancing Information Gathering Systems and Accelerating Examination of Response Measures through Public-Private Collaboration in the Field of Cultivated Food.’ Additionally, on the same day, a press briefing was held to discuss the current state of discussions with related government ministries, industry, and academia regarding ‘cultivated food’, and to outline the challenges and proposals for public-private collaboration in formulating Japan’s response.

Background and Overview of the Proposal

　In the field of cultivated food products, enhancing public-private collaboration is becoming increasingly important for clarifying the national policy direction in Japan. Ideally, as companies move towards commercialization, this should prompt the government to develop and review policies, and at the same time, by the government demonstrating and updating the “policy direction” and its “timeline,” companies can more easily push forward with commercialization. However, the current situation shows that the coordination of information related to cultivated food products between public and private sectors is not as smooth as it should be. If the coordination of information stalls, the government may have to base its decisions on limited information, which could hinder the consideration of the diversity and potential of cultivated food products. Based on the above context, we have arrived at the following two proposals aimed at clarifying the national policies and facilitating the coordination of information between the public and private sectors regarding these food products.

1. Establishment of Pre-market Consultation Desk: Develop a system that enables individual companies to provide specific information and consultations to relevant government agencies with a view to market entry, aiming for implementation within the fiscal year 2025.

2. Clarification of Legal Interpretations and Procedures Related to Market Entry: Clarify existing legal interpretations related to the production of cells for human consumption and the manufacturing and sales of cultivated food products, and explicitly define the procedures that companies should follow when handling cultivated food products as food items.

Why It Is Important to Clarify Japan’s Policy Approach Now – Three Reasons:

1. Avoiding Regulatory Ambiguity: The absence of government guidelines for the sale of cultivated food products, coupled with a lack of explicit prohibitions, creates an undesirable regulatory gray area. Clarification is needed to avoid such situations.
2. Preparation for Future Impacts: As the international and social impacts of cultivated food products are likely to increase, it is crucial to establish reliable domestic sources of information. Clear government policies will help build knowledge about the safe, secure, and stable production of cultivated food, contribute to the development of experts who can assess the feasibility and potential societal contributions of this field, and support the training of such professionals.
3. Leveraging National Strengths: The field of cultivated food products offers an opportunity to capitalize on Japan’s strengths in technology and soft power. Our country possesses expertise in cell culture, storage and distribution of cells, media development, automation, and other material and engineering technologies, as well as having a high-standards of meat quality. Moreover, Japan is renowned for its delicate culinary techniques and food processing technologies, highly regarded worldwide as a gourmet country, having created various food experiences such as crab-flavored fish cake (“kanikama”) and instant cup noodles. Clarifying government policies can facilitate an environment that nurtures Japan’s international competitiveness.

See the full text of the submitted proposals （Japanese）

Here

Comments from Megumi Yoshitomi, President of JACA

　We have prepared this proposal with the hope of advancing understanding of cultivated food products in Japan and accelerating the examination of appropriate policy measures that align with the development status and its future prospects. To this end, JACA has undertaken various initiatives aimed at facilitating the organization of information related to these products between the public and private sectors. For example, we have developed and disseminated guidelines for organizing information on the safety of cultivated food products and have advanced the organization of international trends.

　This initiative to submit policy proposal to the government is not intended to unilaterally promote new technologies, but rather to understand their content and social impacts first, and then to discuss whether these technologies should be actively promoted in light of Japan’s national interests (the nation, the industry, and the citizens). It is our hope that this proposal will serve as a foundation for advancing understanding and discussions related to technologies associated with cultivated food products.