Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 10/25/18

The second and final day of a joint USDA-FDA public gathering on cell-cultured food technology was essentially all about one question: If it looks like meat and tastes like meat...can you call it meat?

During a freewheeling public comment period, stakeholders at USDA's southwest D.C. headquarters laid down markers on what the new form of meat should be called and how it should be labeled — a critical factor in shaping consumer opinion.

Supporters of the food tech, which takes cells from animals and grows them into meat products like burgers, nuggets, fish or sausages, say the products are effectively meat and should be labeled accordingly. There's still a lack of consensus on what to call the new class of products, though there were plenty of opinions about what not to call it at the meeting this week, Pro Ag's Helena Bottemiller Evich reports.

Mike Selden, CEO of Finless Foods, a cell-based seafood company, criticized the term "lab-grown meat," which has been widely used for a while now, calling it "intensely misleading" and unfair. "If meat is 'lab-grown' meat, then beer is 'lab-grown' beer," he said.

On Tuesday, Selden argued that calling cell-based fish anything other than "fish" could be dangerous for consumers with seafood allergies, who might mistake it for a safe-to-eat substitute.

New Age Meats CEO Brian Spears said he served cell-based pork samples to his friends and reporters and they didn't notice a difference from traditional products. "It was perfectly mistakable for meat because it is meat," he said. "When we go to market and label this, it would be simply dishonest to label it as anything other than meat."

What's your beef: Traditional meat groups made clear they don't want the new kids on the block using their names. Kevin Kester, president of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, called the products "lab-grown fake meat" and said manufacturers "must not be permitted to use the term 'beef' and any associated nomenclature." Several individual cattle ranchers spoke out against any use of the term meat, too.

No tea leaves here: FDA and USDA officials were careful to avoid taking sides, using neutral terms throughout the two-day event.