Alternative Protein Products and the Legal Rules on Novel Foods

Alternative protein products are needed to replace animal-based products that have high environmental footprints. Novel protein innovations may face some regulatory hurdles before they can be released to the market. We compare and discuss the legal rules on novel protein products in specific jurisdictions. Authorisations for various plant-based proteins, for example, for leghaemoglobin have been applied and received. In the United States and Singapore, cultured meat is already authorised, Australia is in the midst of authorisation, and the European Union is expecting an application soon. Several insect species have been authorised in the European Union, three (3) insects do not require authorisation in Australia, and the United States tolerates insects. With GMOs, the European Union has been the strictest, currently, the EU rules for gene-edited crops are changing. In relation to the labelling of plant-based alternative foods, the regulatory landscape is still developing in most areas, with regulations expected to be coherent in the coming years in the European Union, United States, and Australia.