NEW TECH FOODS

The UK government has announced its Digital & Technology Sector Plan as part of its broader Industrial Strategy, including a £184m Engineering Biology Scale-up Infrastructure Programme to build and upgrade facilities.

The plan, published this week, highlights engineering biology as a key frontier technology for the UK. Engineering biology encompasses a broad range of technological approaches to producing new sustainable products, or developing existing products in more sustainable ways.

Within the F&B industry, technologies that fall into this category include precision fermentation, cellular agriculture – such as cultivated meat and seafood technologies – and advanced bioengineering of plants.

The government is investing up to £2.8 billion over five years in advanced manufacturing and R&D. It is allocating an initial an initial £196 million for a National Engineering Biology Programme to fund researcher-led projects.

Driving targeted critical R&D for ‘transformative applications’ of engineering biology, it will support investment into engineering biology monitored through metrics such as R&D collaborations and investment leveraged.

The sector plan also supports innovation in crop genetics and breeding to improve UK-grown plant protein sources, such as peas and fava beans. It highlights that the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act (2023) will create a new regulatory framework and enable a route to market for precision-bred products, encouraging investment and innovation in agri-tech.

The plan sets out how it will support networks of researchers, innovators and larger companies in the country through new schemes like the UKRI Engineering Biology Innovation Network.

It highlights a timeline of its plans through to 2035, which includes the completion of the Food Standards Agency’s cultivated meat regulatory sandbox, a first-of-its-kind initiative in Europe, announced last year. The government has pledged to join the newly formed Regulatory Innovation Office to build on its success and pave the way for companies in the space to bring products to market.

Cell-based meat start-up Multus, based in London, is highlighted within the plan as an example of the UK’s growing regional clusters of expertise.

Industry think tank the Good Food Institute Europe (GFI Europe) welcomed the government’s plan, noting its potential to support researchers and scientists developing fermentation-based and cell-based foods.

According to a report shared by the Green Alliance, foods made with these technologies could add £6.8 billion each year to the UK’s economy and create 25,000 jobs by 2035 if supported by regulatory reforms and sufficient public investment.

GFI highlighted that while research into protein diversification has seen a significant increase in the UK, lack of infrastructure is a key barrier to British businesses in commercialising researchers’ findings.

Linus Pardoe, senior UK policy manager at GFI Europe, said: “It’s positive to see the government recognise the UK’s many strengths in engineering biology and commit to boost this sector through a new Industrial Strategy”.

He added: “The UK has everything it takes to become a world leader in developing and commercialising alternative proteins, and initiatives like the new infrastructure funding promised today could be an excellent way of unlocking new opportunities, boosting our food security, helping grow the economy and creating future-proof jobs”.