Cultured meat company Vow has received regulatory approval to use its cultured quail cells as a novel food ingredient in products to be marketed and sold in Australia and New Zealand. The ingredient can be used in foods like logs, rolls, and patties and marketed initially through high-end restaurants.

This is the first time the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has approved a cultivated meat product — making cultured quail the first legally permitted cell-cultured food in Australia and New Zealand.

The approval allows the product to be used only as an “ingredient” in prepared foods and not be sold directly to consumers.

The regulatory greenlight follows two public consultation rounds, the first in December 2023 and second between November 2024 and January 2025, after Vow submitted its application for approving the sale of its cultivated quail cells in May 2022.

In 2023, the company received the “safe to eat” approval for its ingredient, formulated from embryonic fibroblasts of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).

Ensuring product safety

FSANZ’s assessment has concluded that Vow’s cell line’s (221523-Fib-Quail) genetic stability is /confirm/ied, and “microbiological risks are minimal when proper HACCP-based food safety systems are implemented.”

The production inputs do not contain toxicological concerns, and the ingredient’s nutritional profile “does not raise any safety concerns.”

It also mentions a “low” allergenicity risk for the general population.

In March 2024, the Singapore Food Agency approved Vow’s cell-cultured quail product under its novel food regulations, and in November 2024, Vow expanded sales of ‘Forged Parfait’ and its latest cell-cultured quail product ‘Forged Gras’ into Hong Kong.

While no specific regulations govern the production or sale of cultured meat in Hong Kong, Vow’s product “satisfied the safety assessment requirements of its Centre for Food Safety drawing on the regulatory approval granted by the Singapore Food Agency,” notes FSANZ.

Labeling requirements

FSANZ notes that Vow’s ingredients must be identified with “cell-cultured” or “cell-cultivated” alongside food names in labels in all retail formats, including packaged, unpackaged, and catering.

It has also imposed labeling restrictions, such as prohibiting terms like “poultry meat.” 

Additionally, the food must adhere to microbiological safety limits for Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes.

The measures will “take effect immediately upon gazettal to encourage industry innovation by allowing the sale of cell-cultured quail in Australia “without delay,” says the agency.