Consumer Organizations Share Views at Japan’s May 28 Expert Committee Meeting on Cultivated Food Guidelines

On May 28, 2026, Japan’s Food Sanitation Standards Council’s Newly Developed Foods Investigation Subcommittee (食品衛生基準審議会新開発食品調査部会) held an online meeting to discuss foods manufactured through cell culture, provisionally referred to in Japanese government materials as “cell-cultured foods.”

Four consumer organizations were invited to the meeting to share their views, and each submitted written materials to the subcommittee.

This page provides a brief summary of the key messages from each organization, together with full English translations of the four submitted documents. For the official Japanese materials, please refer to the Consumer Affairs Agency website.

Participating Consumer Organizations

⚫︎ SHUFUREN — Association of Consumer Organizations｜Website: https://shufuren.net/en/
⚫︎ Food Communication Compass｜Website: https://foocom.net/
⚫︎ Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU)｜Website: https://jccu.coop/eng/
⚫︎ Consumers Japan (National Liaison Committee of Consumer Organizations / 全国消費者団体連絡会)｜Website: https://www.shodanren.gr.jp/

Key Messages

SHUFUREN — Association of Consumer Organizations

SHUFUREN — Association of Consumer Organizations
⚫︎ Cell-cultured foods are unfamiliar to consumers, and safety concerns remain around production methods, ingredients, additives, and long-term consumption.
⚫︎ Potential benefits such as sustainability, animal welfare, and sanitation should not be emphasized without also explaining unresolved issues.
⚫︎ Clear labeling, traceability, and transparency are essential so that consumers can choose whether or not to consume cell-cultured foods.

Food Communication Compass

⚫︎ Consumers have both expectations and concerns: expectations around future protein supply and sustainability, and concerns around unfamiliar technology and unintended risks.
⚫︎ A product-by-product safety review by public authorities (Regulatory framework candidate: Type 1) is the most appropriate regulatory framework, as a notification-only system risks allowing inadequate oversight.
⚫︎ Japan should consider mandatory labeling and a broader safety assessment framework for novel foods.

Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union (JCCU)

⚫︎ The government’s discussion has been careful and transparent, but manufacturing and quality-control oversight require further consideration.
⚫︎ Administrative review of each product is likely the most acceptable approach for consumers and is consistent with international trends.
⚫︎ Consumers need reliable information, appropriate labeling, and advertising rules so they do not unknowingly consume cell-cultured foods.

Consumers Japan (National Liaison Committee of Consumer Organizations / 全国消費者団体連絡会)

⚫︎ Safety discussions should proceed carefully and continue to reflect new scientific knowledge.
⚫︎ At the early stage, only products whose safety and manufacturing methods have been reviewed by the government or expert bodies should enter the market.
⚫︎ Clear labeling, information disclosure, and risk communication are necessary to protect consumers’ right to choose.

Translated Materials

The translated versions of the written submissions from each consumer organization can be viewed in the window below. For the official comments and original Japanese materials, please check the Consumer Affairs Agency website.