The Board of Food Standards Australia New Zealand gives notice of the making of this Standard under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. The Standard commences on the date of gazettal.

Dated 10 June 2025

Matthew O’Mullane, General Manager, Food Safety  

Delegate of the Board of Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Standard 1.5.4  Cell-cultured foods

Note 1 This instrument is a standard under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). The standards together make up the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. See also section 1.1.1—3.

Note 2  The provisions of the Code that apply in New Zealand are incorporated in, or adopted under, the Food Act 2014 (NZ). See also section 1.1.1—3.

Division 1 Preliminary

1.5.4—1 Name

  This Standard is Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.5.4 – Cell-cultured foods.

Note    Commencement:
This Standard commences on the date of gazettal, being the date specified as the commencement date in notices in the Gazette and the New Zealand Gazette under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). See also section 93 of that Act.

1.5.4—2 Definitions

Note In this Code (see sections 1.1.2—2):

 a cell-cultured food means a food obtained by culturing cells isolated from any of the following sources: livestock; poultry; game; seafood (including fish); an egg or an embryo of any of the former.’

Division 2 General requirements

1.5.4—3 When a cell-cultured food is permitted for sale

A food for sale may be, or have as an ingredient, a *cell-cultured food if:

  (a)  the cell-cultured food is listed in Schedule 25A; and

 (b)  any corresponding conditions listed in that Schedule are complied with.

1.5.4—4 Prohibition on use in special purpose foods

  A *cell-cultured food must not be added to a food standardised by Part 2.9 of this Code.

1.5.4—5 Labelling requirement – name of the ingredient in a food for sale

 (1) This section applies to a food for sale that has a *cell-cultured food as an ingredient.              

 (2)  For the labelling provisions, the information relating to *cell-cultured food is the use of one of the following statements in conjunction with the name of the ingredient that is a *cell-cultured food:

 (a)  ‘cell-cultured’;

 (b)  ‘cell-cultivated’.

 Note The labelling provisions are set out in Standard 1.2.1. Labelling provisions apply to both packaged and unpackaged food.

 Example  The label on a packaged food for sale that contains a *cell-cultured food as an ingredient, must use the statement cell-cultured or cell-cultivated in conjunction with the name of that ingredient in a statement of ingredients required by Standard 1.2.1 and 1.2.4.             

1.5.4—6 Labelling requirement – name of the food for sale – retail sale

 (1) This section applies to a food for sale that:

 (a) is one of the following:

 (i)  for retail sale; or

 (ii)  suitable for retail sale without any further processing, packaging or labelling; and

 (b) is packaged; and

 (c) has a *cell-cultured food as an ingredient (the ingredient); and

 (d)  is represented in words, images or both as being from the animal from which the *cell-cultured food was sourced.

 (2) Paragraph (1)(d) does not apply to a reference in a statement of ingredients to the animal from which the *cell-cultured food was sourced.

 (3) For the labelling provisions, the information relating to *cell-cultured food is the use in the name of the food for sale of the same statement that is used in conjunction with the name of the ingredient in accordance with section 1.5.4—5.

 Note The labelling provisions are set out in Standard 1.2.1

 Example  The label on a packaged food for sale that contains a *cell-cultured food as an ingredient and that uses the statement cell-cultured in relation to that ingredient in the statement of ingredients in accordance with section 1.5.4—5, must also include the statement cell-cultured‑ in the name of the food if the food for sale is represented in words, images or both as being from the animal from which the *cell-cultured food is sourced (e.g. ‘made from cell-cultured [animal name]’ or ‘cell-cultured [animal name] patties’).

 A packaged food for sale that contains a *cell-cultured food as an ingredient and that has no representations in words, images or both on its label of being from the animal from which the food is sourced, would not be subject to labelling requirements relating to the food for sale in section 1.5.4—6. Standard 1.2.2 would apply to require the use of a name or description in relation to that food that is sufficient to indicate the true nature of that food.

1.5.4—7 Labelling requirement – name of the food for sale – non-retail sale

1.            This section applies to a food for sale that is:

   (a)  a *cell-cultured food; and

  (b)  a food for sale to which Division 3 or 4 of Standard 1.2.1 applies.

 (2)  For the labelling provisions, the information relating to *cell-cultured food is the use of one of the following statements in conjunction with the name of the *cell-cultured food:

 (a)  ‘cell-cultured’;

 (b)  ‘cell-cultivated’.

 Note The labelling provisions are set out in Standard 1.2.1. Labelling provisions apply to both packaged and unpackaged food.

 Example  Paragraph 1.2.1—15(a) provides that the labelling of food sold to a caterer must state the name of the food in accordance with section 1.2.2—2 (such as a name or description sufficient to indicate the true nature of the food). A packaged food that is a cell-cultured‑ food and is sold to a caterer must include the statement ‘cell-cultured’ or ‘cell‑cultivated’ in conjunction with the name of the cell-cultured food, where that name is the name of the food for sale (e.g. ‘cell-cultivated [animal]’).