FSA highlights innovations poised to change UK diets

Innovations promise environmental and health benefits but also raise new safety, regulatory and communication challenges for environmental health practitioners

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have released a new report highlighting emerging food technologies likely to reach UK consumers within the next 15 years, exploring the potential safety, regulatory, and inspection challenges they bring. 

The Thematic Report on Emerging Food Innovations identifies both near-market and early-stage technologies. Dr Thomas Vincent, Deputy Director of Innovation, FSA, said, “Emerging technologies are reshaping how our food is produced and sourced. This report gives industry and government clear sight of what is coming, and what is required to ensure these products meet the UK’s high standards.” 

Key innovations include:

• Controlled Environment Agriculture / vertical farming – growing crops in climate controlled indoor spaces where conditions are heavily monitored and nutrients are administered precisely.  
• Precision and biomass fermentation – using microorganisms to produce protein-rich ingredients. Already used for mycoprotein in Quorn and rennet in cheese, this is now being used to develop common ingredients such as fats and proteins that can help bring the familiar flavour and texture of foods like meat, eggs and cheese to plant-based foods. It is also being used to develop products like coffee, chocolate and palm oil. 
• Cellular agriculture – new foods that don’t involve traditional farming such as rearing livestock or growing plants and grains. 
• Edible insects, algae, and seaweed – which may be sold as whole insects or used as ingredients (for example, powders added to familiar foods). 
• Gas fermentation and 3D food printing – using microbes to convert captured carbon dioxide, hydrogen or other industrial gases into single cell proteins and other useful food ingredients. 

“These new technologies could not only help reduce [health and environmental pressures], but could also create new jobs and strengthen our food resilience…”

Dr Sarah Nájera Espinosa, Research Fellow in food systems and health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), said, “These new technologies could not only help reduce some of the health and environmental pressures we face, but could also create new jobs and strengthen our food resilience by bringing more production back home.” 

Seren Kell, Head of Science and Technology at non-profit think tank, the Good Food Institute Europe, echoed Nájera Espinosa’s thoughts, saying that diversifying the UK’s protein supply with foods such as fermentation-made ingredients can help boost the resilience of the food supply, and encourage healthier diets by offering convenient options.

“The UK is now home to a thriving network of researchers and startups working on these foods. It’s positive to see the Food Standards Agency highlighting the transformative role they can play and the need to ensure that they come to market in a way that meets the UK’s world-leading regulatory standards.”

Nájera Espinosa added that there is a lot we can learn from the mistakes made when GM foods were first introduced, with many novel food technologies involving complex processes that can be difficult to explain. “This is particularly relevant when we consider the current spotlight on ultra-processed foods, where people have understandably become deeply wary of what they are consuming.”

Communicating the science is vital, “If we do not communicate these novel technologies in a transparent and clear way, it could have a deep impact on how they are seen by consumers and overshadow their potential benefits.”

The FSA’s innovation programmes, including the Cell-Cultivated Products Regulatory Sandbox, aim to give regulators and businesses a head start on ensuring safety, labelling, and traceability ahead of widespread market uptake. 

Innovative approaches to fermentation could add £9.8 billion to the UK economy by 2050 – and £2.4 billion in exports – according to research by Systemiq, supported by the Good Food Institute Europe, late last year.