Watch this plate: precision bred organisms and lab-grown foods on the horizon

Food products containing Precision Bred Organisms (PBOs) are likely to be available for consumption in England, Scotland and Wales imminently. Cell Cultivated Products (CCPs) – aka lab-grown foods – are currently set to become available across England, Scotland and Wales within two years.  

This article explores the steps made during 2025 towards making England a soon-to-be global leader in offering novel foods to consumers. 

Precision bred organisms (PBOs) 

Critics argue that PBOs are no different to genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This is not strictly true. Both involve the editing of an organism's DNA in a laboratory to produce an organism that has desirable features (e.g. the ability to survive weedkiller). Modern-day genetic modification involves the crossbreeding of species that could not happen naturally. On the other hand, precision breeding involves the editing of DNA in a way that can happen through traditional plant or animal breeding methods.    

Some GMOs have come about through traditional breeding methods. Supermarket corn-on-the-cob was developed through natural farming methods to finally produce the version the UK (and much of the globe) knows today. But developments in the transferability of DNA in laboratories during the 1970s resulted in modern-day genetic engineering.  

Genetic engineering is the process through which scientists either a) select the preferred genes of one organism from a DNA chain and insert it into the DNA chain of another, or b) remove part of the DNA that prevents the organism from forming in the desired way. Today, in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, plants that contain transgenes (genes from another organism) that could not have been achieved through traditional breeding are regulated as GMOs. 

The regulations that came into force during 2025 mean that PBOs are likely to be available imminently for purchase in England. 

Cell cultivated products (CCPs) 

CCPs are the second type of novel food being explored by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the regulator of food safety across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. CCPs are lab-grown foods. Cells are taken from either the living organism or products (such as meat or eggs). The cells are grown in a controlled environment before they are harvested and amended to produce the final product. CCPs are not yet available on the shelves within the UK. On 05 December 2025, the FSA published their first safety guidance on CCPs.  

Legal developments over 2025 

The Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 (hereafter the ‘Genetic Technology Act’) provides for the regulation of PBOs in England. However, parts of this Act could not come into force without a supporting regulatory framework. Accordingly, the following two regulations came into force in April and May 2025. 

1) Food and Feed (Regulated Products) (Amendment, Revocation, Consequential and Transitional Provision) Regulations 2025.  

2) Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Regulations 2025.  

Notably the regulatory framework is only in force across England. However, products containing PBOs can be sold in Scotland and Wales, owing to the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020 (UKIMA). In contrast, the processing of such goods in Wales and Scotland is not enabled through the UKIMA. Accordingly, the processing of PBO-products is currently governed in Scotland and Wales by different regulations that apply to GMOs. 

PBOs distinguished from GMOs 

The 2025 regulations distinguish GMOs from PBOs, most notably by the insertion of Section 106A into the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (EPA). This Section essentially prevents PBOs from being tarred with the same brush as GMOs. The criminal offences that arise from the mishandling of GMOs (created by Section 118 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990) do not apply to the handling of PBOs. 

The PBOs regulations also provide Ministers with the power to determine how PBOs are to be regulated.  

Education programmes and additional support for businesses 

Indeed, the 2025 regulations are just one way in which the previous government under Rishi Sunak aimed to speed-up the approval of novel foods before they hit the shelves. In addition to the regulations, the FSA announced four new programmes throughout 2025. These programmes aim to a) educate regulators about PBOs and CCPs, b) increase the speed with which decisions about the safety of products are made, and c) encourage companies to make applications for the use of their PBOs and/or product. 

The following two programmes are aimed at supporting the release of CCPs. Firstly, March 2025 saw the launch of the FSA’s ‘Sandbox Programme’. This Programme is a two-year collaboration with scientists, academics, regulators and trade organisations. The goal is to ensure CCPs are safe for consumers. Secondly, in June 2025, a Business Support Service was introduced in partnership with Foods Standards Scotland (FSS). The Service aims to assist companies with applications for their CCPs to enter the market. The Service also offers a channel for businesses to communicate directly with regulators, so as to seek guidance during the application process. The aim is to help businesses submit higher-quality applications, thereby increasing the likelihood that novel foods will receive approval for marketing and sale. 

In relation to PBOs, the following two schemes have been announced by the FSA. Firstly, in March 2025, an allocation of £1.4 million was announced, to establish a new innovation hub. The hub should improve regulators’ expertise about emerging food technologies, with a particular emphasis on precision fermentation. The intention is to position regulators at the forefront of both understanding and overseeing these novel processes. 

Secondly, the ‘Market Authorisation Innovation Research Programme’ (IRP) was announced in September 2025. The IRP is a rapid, one year initiative that is also designed to enhance regulators’ expertise in overseeing innovative food technologies. The Programme has a particular focus on precision fermentation. Essentially, the IRP appears to be dedicated to ensuring that regulatory processes are sufficiently robust to enable the UK to fully capitalise on the opportunities presented by technological advances in food production. 

Why the developments 

It appears that, for many years, the general consensus amongst novel food scientists and companies has been that the UK’s regulatory framework for GMO-products was excessively rigid. This reputation was largely attributable to the inheritance of EU law through the ‘common understanding’ between the UK and the EU. Consequently, both the FSA and FSS faced difficulties in performing their regulatory duties in a way that supported the innovative advancement of new food products. The legal situation posed the risk of stifling innovation. 

At the time the 2025 regulations came into force, food products derived from PBOs were unavailable for purchase in the UK. No CCPs are currently available for purchase. Modern-day GMO-derived foods in the UK have been sold since 1996 but are clearly labelled.  

Impact on consumers 

Products containing PBOs will still be required to pass a safety assessment by the FSA and FSS. Theoretically, therefore, such products are unlikely to impact on consumers’ health. In fact, PBO-products could be designed to have higher nutritional value. It is widely known that vegetables do not contain the level of nutrients they once did, largely because of a world-wide depletion in soil quality. Through PBOs, scientists and farmers could increase the nutritional value of vegetables. If more nutritionally dense foods become available and widely consumed, health benefits may well be seen over the coming years. 

Once CCPs become available – predicted to be within two years – there is likely to be a shift in consumers’ dietary preferences. Many individuals choose veganism because of environment protection and animal rights. For these individuals, lab-grown meat may provide an avenue through which meat and other animal products can once again be consumed.  

Importantly, these developments could boost the economy. If England becomes one of the first jurisdictions in which companies can sell their PBO-products, the country should see a boom in imports by said companies. This may strengthen the economy, as said companies will be required to pay import tax. Further, shop owners offering novel food items could benefit financially.  

Potential legal consequences on the horizon 

England’s food safety laws were adopted from EU law as part of the common understanding when the UK exited the EU. Accordingly, it is yet to be seen whether the EU feels the jurisdiction has strayed from the common understanding, owing to the distinction between GMOs and PBOs. 

For information about the application process for the marketing, release and sale of PBOs, refer to the FSA guidance and the following article by Morrison Foerster.