Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.

Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Lab-grown pet food authorised to be sold in UK
Meatly has worked with vegan pet food company Omni to create a lab-grown cat food.
Producer hopes to launch first samples later this year.

Pet food containing lab-grown meat is set to go on sell in the UK for the first time.

Cultivated meat company Meatly has received permission from regulatory bodies to sells its canned wet food for cats that uses cultivated chicken as a protein source.

It is the first European company to be authorised to sell cultivated meat, and the first company in the world to be authorised to sell cultivated meat for pet food in the UK.

The product has been created in collaboration with Omni, a protein pet food company based in the UK. Omni was founded by veterinary surgeon Guy Sandelowsky to produce vegan pet food.

Non-traditional diets for pets are becoming increasingly common among pet owners, but there have been concerns about their possible impact on animal welfare.

The British Veterinary Association has recently published a policy paper looking at the topic of dietary choices for cats and dogs. The paper states that alternative protein ingredients such as cultured meat have been suggested to improve the sustainability of food, but that ‘more research is needed to assess their safety, nutritional qualities and whether they can truly be considered sustainable.’

To authorise the sale of its cultivated chicken in the UK, Meatly worked with the Food Standards Agency, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Animal and Plant Health Agency.

The company also produced a safety dossier and conducted testing to show that the cultivated chicken was safe for pets. It says that tests found the cultivated chicken was free from bacteria and viruses, grown from safe nutrients, and that it was safe for pets and nutritious.

Meatly is aiming to launch the first samples of its lab-grown pet food later this year and hopes to start scaling production to industrial volumes in the next three years.

Owen Ensor, chief executive of Meatly, said: “We’re delighted to have worked proactively alongside the UK’s regulators to showcase that Meatly chicken is safe and healthy for pets.”

Image © Shutterstock

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Prof Joanne Webster elected as Fellow of the Royal Society

News Story 1
 Joanne Webster, a professor of parasitic diseases at the RVC, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS).

An infectious disease expert, Prof Webster is known for promoting a One Health approach to disease control.

She completed her doctoral research in zoonotic disease and parasite-host interactions, and has since earned widespread recognition for contributions to parasitology and global health.

Prof Webster said: "I am truly honoured, and somewhat stunned, to be recognised alongside such an exceptional group of scientists." 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Germany FMD import restrictions eased

The UK government has lifted the import restrictions placed on FMD-susceptible commodities from Germany.

The decision comes after the country was recognised as foot-and-mouth disease free without vaccination on 14 May.

Imports of FMD-susceptible animals and their by-products from Germany were originally banned, after the country reported a case of FMD near Brandenburg in January. In March, the UK government permitted imports from outside of the outbreak zone.

Germany will now be able to import FMD-susceptible animals and their by-products into the UK, providing they meet other import conditions.

The decision follows rigorous technical assessment of measures in Germany. Defra says it will not hesitate respond to FMD outbreaks.