FDA, USDA Could Improve Cell-Cultured Meat Cooperation, GAO Finds

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has publicly released its April 2020 report on the partnership between the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) on the development of cell-cultured meat. GAO indicated that it began the inquiry after some stakeholders “expressed concern about the agencies’ oversight of cell-cultured meat amidst a fragmented federal food safety oversight system.” GAO recommended that “FDA and USDA more fully incorporate leading practices for effective collaboration in the agencies’ interagency agreement,” and the agencies “partially concurred and indicated a willingness to incorporate these practices in a more detailed agreement, which would also meet the intent of the recommendations.”