Italy has banned meat grown in labs using animal tissue cells, and has also placed a ban on the use of labels that describe plant-based protein as meat.
Any company found to be violating the rule can now face fines ranging from 10,000 to 60,000 euros (AUD$16,00-$100,000).
Lab-grown meat burger
The AFP newsagency reported that Italy’s lower house approved the ban on Thursday, becoming the first European Union nation to ban the production and sale of lab-grown meat.
The law says it seeks to “protect the national livestock heritage” while recognising its cultural, socio-economic and environmental value.
It also seeks to ensure “a high level of protection of human health”, while protecting the interests of consumers and their right to information about what they are eating.
Italy’s main agricultural lobby Coldiretti refers to lab-grown meat as ‘Frankenstein’ meat and said the law represents “a commitment to defend the Mediterranean diet”.
Italy’s Agriculture Minister, Francesco Lollobrigida, said that cultivated meat “interrupts the virtuous relationship between land, man and work that for millennia has accompanied us and allowed us to maintain the land”.
However, an Italian non-profit, The International Organisation for the Protection of Animals criticise the law, according to AFP, calling it pointless.
“This ban is completely useless today since cultured meat has not yet been approved for human consumption in Europe and therefore cannot be marketed.”
The European Union, as per AFP, considers lab-grown meat a ‘novel food’ which means that any new product will be subject to authorisation from the bloc. If the bloc approves cultivated meat, Italy cannot ban it.
As of now, the meat is not allowed to be sold in the EU. However, companies in the US have been raising money for research into the new science.
Beyond Meat woes worsen
Meanwhile, the bad news keeps coming for plant based “meat” pioneer Beyond Meat which cut its annual revenue forecast for the second time this year, and announced new job cuts and a review of global operations as part of a cost-reduction plan.
Reuters reports that consumers have curtailed spending on its pricier plant-based products.
Beyond Meat expects 2023 net revenue to be in the range of $330 million to $340 million, compared with its prior outlook of $360 million to $380 million.
Reuters reports the segment is also facing uncertainty around the health benefits of plant-based meat.
CEO Ethan Brown told analysts last week that Beyond Meat is considering exiting certain product lines in the US.
Beyond Meat’s market capitalisation since floating in May 2019 has plummeted from over $9 billion to $440 million now, and its share prices has followed a similar trajectory, from over $240 per share to $6.65 today.