GOURMEY reaches UK validation milestone as Britain builds regulatory path for cultivated meat

In July 2025, French cultivated meat startup GOURMEY became the first company to have a cultivated meat novel food application validated in Great Britain by both the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). While this does not yet authorize market entry, it marks a key regulatory milestone: the application is now considered complete and will advance to full scientific risk assessment.

The UK validation follows Gourmey’s earlier application validations with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and Switzerland’s Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) in 2024. The company also participates in the UK’s Regulatory Sandbox for cell-cultivated products, a government initiative that is designed to support safe innovation through early engagement with regulators and experts.

This milestone also highlights the UK’s broader ambition to become a global leader in novel food regulation. Alongside the Regulatory Sandbox, the FSA and FSS recently launched a pilot Business Support Service for companies developing cell-cultivated products. The service, which is separate from the Sandbox, offers tailored assistance with pre-submission preparation, hazard identification, data requirements, and responses to regulator questions. The FSA plans to expand this support model to other emerging technologies, including precision fermentation, in the future.