How Innovation-Friendly is the EU Novel Food Regulation? The Case of Cellular Agriculture

Abstract

We systematically analyze how the EU’s Novel Food Regulation affects food innovation in the European Union (EU) with a specific focus on cellular agriculture. We employ an original analytical framework based on innovation systems theory and triangulate legal analysis with stakeholder perceptions collected through EFSA’s stakeholder consultations, expert interviews and an original stakeholder survey. Our results show that several aspects of the regulation impede entrepreneurial experimentation, resource mobilization and market formation. The robust safety assessment by EFSA in principle contributes to the legitimation of the technology but does not address key sustainability concerns. This creates potential for “legal disruption” in the broader context of the food system transformation. We argue that relatively minor changes to the Novel Food Regulation could increase its innovativeness without compromising food safety or compliance with EU primary and WTO law. Experimental regulation in the form of “regulatory sandboxes” could help to identify more innovation-friendly solutions and address sustainability concerns regarding cellular agriculture.

Keywords: cultivated meat, novel food regulation, innovation systems, Sustainability, legal disruption