The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has recently published the results from a survey they ran to find out more about the publics perception of emerging alternative proteins. It revealed that a third of UK customers would try cultured meat and a quarter would try edible insects. It also found that a greater number (1 in 10 of us) are willing to try plant-based products many of which are already on the market.

The FSA research also highlights how important food safety is to consumers with it being the top factor in encouraging people to try lab-grown meat or edible insects. Assurance around food safety is already the main reason people are willing to eat plant-based proteins.

The survey comes as the FSA reiterates its commitment to supporting food innovation, especially where there are potential benefits for dietary health, for protecting the environment or for boosting the UK economy – but always with consumer interests and food safety as the top priority.

Alternative, or novel, sources of protein for human consumption are an emerging food and are mainly associated with plant proteins, insects and microorganisms.

Highlights of the report include:

• “Awareness of alternative proteins is high amongst consumers, with 90% of respondents reporting that they had heard of plant-based proteins, 80% had heard of edible insects and 78% had heard of lab grown meat.
• “Over three quarters (77%) of respondents perceived plant-based proteins as being safe to eat compared to half (50%) for edible insects and 3 in 10 (30%) for lab grown meat.
• “Six in 10 respondents were willing to try plant-based proteins in their diet, the most common reasons were because they thought it was safe to eat (44%) and for health reasons (39%) or environmental or sustainability (36%) reasons. The biggest barrier to trying plant-based proteins was preference for traditional meats (36%).
• “Around a third (34%) were willing to try lab grown meat and just over a quarter (26%) willing to try edible insects. Environmental and sustainability were the most common reasons for trying lab-grown meat (40%) and edible insects (31%).
• “Respondents who were unwilling to try any of the alternative proteins tested were asked whether anything could encourage them to try it:
  • “Two in five (42%) reported that nothing could encourage them to try lab grown meat, but over a quarter (27%) could be persuaded if they knew it was safe to eat and 23% if they could trust that it was properly regulated.
  • “The majority (67%) reported that nothing could make them try edible insects. One in eight (13%) could be persuaded if they knew it was safe to eat and 11% if they looked appetising.”

To read the full report, click here.

Wrap has partnered up with ‘Behaviour Change’, a social enterprise, to try and align the industries battle against food waste more closely with emissions caused by household waste.

This new partnership will allow them to use behavioural insights and strategies, piloting and testing interventions to ensure government, businesses and charities were working more closely together to tackle climate change.

WRAP confirmed that 45% of UK emissions arose from the products we used and how we used them – with behavioural change a vital part of reaching net zero.

The partnership is aimed at making environmental messaging more effective by engaging directly with the public through the likes of Love Food Hate Waste, Recycle Now, Love Your Clothes and Clear on Plastics.

It will also support environmental commitments made by organisations and governments, including Courtauld 2030 and the UK Plastics Pact.

The European Commission has adopted a ban on the use of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive. The ban will apply after a six-month transitionary period, ending on 7 August 2022. From this date, food products containing titanium dioxide will no longer be able to be placed on the EU market.

The European Union (EU) has now published Commission Regulation (EU) 2022/63, amending Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, as regards the food additive titanium dioxide (E 171). This Regulation removes the authorisations for the use of titanium dioxide as a food additive in the EU.

In order to mitigate the potential impact on food business operators, transitional measures were included in the Regulation, allowing businesses to continue placing food on the market containing E 171 for a limited period of time, while food business operators are working on the reformulation of their products.  Those foods may then continue to be marketed until their date of minimum durability or ‘use by’ date.

Titanium dioxide will remain provisionally on the list of authorised additives to allow its use in medicinal products. This will be reviewed within three years of the
entry into force of this regulation (7 February 2025). During this time, the pharmaceutical industry is being encouraged to accelerate the development of
alternatives to replace titanium dioxide.

The removal of titanium dioxide as an approved food additive applies in respect to Northern Ireland, under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Titanium dioxide remains a permitted food additive in GB under retained Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has conducted an independent review of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) opinions, taking this issue through the UK’s food and feed Risk Analysis process using data from the Titanium Dioxide Manufacturers Association (TDMA). As part of this process, the UK’s Scientific
Advisory Committees (SACs) are looking at this issue. A statement of the interim position of these committees has now been published.

The SACs will continue to consider the issue throughout the year in order to complete the risk assessment, whose current timeline is the first quarter of 2023.
This may change as the work progresses if more data is required to come to a conclusion.

You may also be interested to note that JECFA, the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Committee on Food Additives, is also assessing the safety of titanium dioxide as a priority.