{"id":17065,"date":"2021-03-10T09:00:25","date_gmt":"2021-03-10T14:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/?p=17065"},"modified":"2021-03-03T10:32:37","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T15:32:37","slug":"the-vegetarian-resource-group-submitted-this-testimony-to-the-fda-concerning-labeling-of-seafood-produced-from-cultured-seafood-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/2021\/03\/10\/the-vegetarian-resource-group-submitted-this-testimony-to-the-fda-concerning-labeling-of-seafood-produced-from-cultured-seafood-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"THE VEGETARIAN RESOURCE GROUP SUBMITTED THIS TESTIMONY TO THE FDA CONCERNING LABELING OF SEAFOOD PRODUCED FROM CULTURED SEAFOOD CELLS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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We welcome the opportunity to comment on Labeling of Foods\nComprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood Cells. As a consumer\norganization, we prioritize providing clear, helpful label information that\nconsumers can use to make an informed choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     We believe that\nthe name or statement of identity of foods comprised of or containing cultured\nseafood cells should inform consumers about how the animal cells were produced.\nVegetarians do not eat seafood and would want to be aware that a product\ncontains cultured seafood cells. We assume that this would also be the case for\nthose with an allergy to seafoods and for those who avoid seafood due to\nreligious beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In 2020, a survey\nwas conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of\nThe Vegetarian Resource Group from June 22-24, 2020 among 2,074 U.S. adults\nages 18 and older. We found that more than half of the U.S. adult population\n(54%) always or sometimes eats vegetarian (including vegan) meals when eating\nout. We asked if survey respondents would purchase a meat alternative grown\nfrom animal cell DNA obtained ten years ago, which does not currently involve\nthe raising of animals. Only 12% of respondents said they would purchase such a\nproduct; 19% of vegetarians including vegans would purchase a meat alternative\ngrown from animal cell DNA; 19% of those that sometimes or always eat vegan\nmeals when eating out and 18% of those that sometimes or always eat vegetarian,\nincluding vegan, meals when eating out would purchase this type of meat alternative.1\nSimilarly a 2021 national survey was commissioned by The Vegetarian Resource\nGroup and conducted online by YouGov, of 8 -17 year-olds. This survey found\nthat more than half (53%) of 8-17 year-olds sometimes or always eat vegetarian\nmeals when eating out. As was done in the adult poll, we asked if survey\nrespondents would purchase a meat alternative grown from cells (DNA) from an\nanimal, which was collected years ago which does not currently involve the\nraising of animals. Only 9% of respondents said they would purchase a meat\nalternative grown from animal cell DNA.2<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     While we do not\nhave results specifically examining seafood cell DNA, we imagine that results\nwould be similar.  Since so many consumers would choose not to purchase\nsuch a product, it is important that they be informed about the presence of\ncultured seafood cells in products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In addition to\nlabel information, it is important for companies to have specific information\nabout the source of these cells in their products on their websites since many\npeople look on product websites for information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Use of a term\nsuch as \u201cengineered using cultured seafood cells\u201d would help consumers\nunderstand that the product is based on seafood and that seafood cells are used\nin production. An educational program would need to be developed to inform\nconsumers about the meaning of \u201ccultured\u201d in this context. This terminology\nshould be prominently delayed on the product\u2019s label so that consumers are\naware of the product\u2019s composition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Names for conventionally\nproduced seafood products should be included with the phrase \u201cengineered using\ncultured seafood cells\u201d with the specific seafood whose cells were cultured\nidentified using the common or usual name.  If consumers generally use a\nspecific name for a certain fish or shellfish, this name should be used as long\nas it is clear to consumers that the products are made using cells of fish. For\nexample, a product might be labeled, \u201cEngineered using cultured catfish cells.\u201d\nThis would allow consumers who avoid certain types of seafood to be aware of\nthe type of seafood used in production. This is especially important for\nconsumers with a shellfish allergy or who keep kosher and do not eat certain\nkinds of fish or shellfish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Creating a new\nname for a food that is comprised of or contains cultured seafood cells and\nusing it in The Seafood List is likely to confuse consumers. We believe that\nthe use of a descriptor such as \u201cengineered using cultured catfish cells\u201d is\nmore informative than assigning a product a new name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     In addition, we\nurge the FDA to forbid labeling products containing cultured seafood cells as\n\u201cvegetarian\u201d or \u201cvegan.\u201d Although the FDA does not currently define\n\u201cvegetarian\u201d or \u201cvegan,\u201d these terms are commonly used to imply that products\ndo not contain ingredients from meat\/fish\/poultry (vegetarian) or from all\nanimal products and by-products (vegan). Having \u201cvegetarian\u201d or \u201cvegan\u201d on a\nlabel of a product containing cultured seafood cells would be misleading to\nconsumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

     Thank you for the\nopportunity to comment on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. What vegetarian and vegan products will American adults\npurchase? Questions asked by The Vegetarian Resource Group in a national poll. https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/nutshell\/harris2020veganadultwriteup2blog.pdf.\n<\/a>2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. How many youth in the U.S are vegan? How many teens eat\nvegetarian when eating out? www.vrg.org<\/a>. 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We welcome the opportunity to comment on Labeling of Foods Comprised of or Containing Cultured Seafood Cells. As a consumer organization, we prioritize providing clear, helpful label information that consumers can use to make an informed choice.      We believe that the name or statement of identity of foods comprised of or containing cultured seafood cells […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17065"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17067,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17065\/revisions\/17067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vrg.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}