DECEMBER 20228IN MY OPINIONTHE REGULATORY LANDSCAPE OF ALTERNATIVE PROTEINS: PLANT-BASED, FERMENTATION AND CELL-BASEDBY CELIA MARTIN, DIRECTOR GLOBAL REGULATORY AFFAIRS, LALLEMANDThe global food needs are expected to increase for the next decades. With the worldwide population growing to around 10 billion by 2050 and the consumption patterns evolving, the overall protein consumption is predicted to grow significantly and nearly double by 2025. The consumption of animal-derived products poses serious health issues­e.g. World Health Organization having classified processed meat and read meat as carcinogenic ­ and that is one of the motivations driving consumers to seek for plant-based meat alternatives. Moreover, the animal agriculture negatively impacts the environment through greenhouse gas emissions, land take, water requirements and pollution. There is a clear need for more sustainable options to meet the growing demand for high quality protein-rich diets. Reducing the consumption of animal-derived proteins and shifting to other sources of protein is a way to address the environment and climate crisis as well as to contribute to more healthy and balanced diets. Until recently, plant-based proteins have been the most conventional alternatives to animal proteins, and they are still gaining traction, as seen from the booming plant-based foods market in recent years. However, other proteins from insects, algae, fermentation-based (e.g., from bacteria, yeast, fungi) or cell-based proteins (e.g., cultivated meat, seafood, dairy) are progressively emerging as new options in the alternative protein market. To have a full success in the marketplace, including consumers' acceptance, alternative proteins must overcome some challenges from the regulatory standpoint, including safety, nomenclature, and labelling. The safety assessment is a key pillar of any innovative food to access the market. For alternative proteins, this is generally achieved through scientific procedures, such as the US Food and Drugs' Administration's food Generally Recognized AsSafe (GRAS) or the European Food Safety Agency's Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) and Novel Food assessment. Other agencies have specific evaluation systems based on the same scientific and risk-based principles. Celia Martin
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