A Rapid Evidence Review on Consumer Responses to Cell-Cultivated Products

An evidence review was undertaken to examine consumer responses to cell-cultivated products (meat, seafood, dairy and plants). Cell-cultivated products are foods made without slaughter or traditional farming. For example, cells from animals are grown in a controlled setting and then used to create the final product. Most of the available evidence only examined cell-cultivated meat. All findings are based on UK evidence, except where otherwise stated. The key findings are outlined below. A minority (16-41%) of people are willing to consume cell-cultivated meat in the UK • Willingness to consume cell-cultivated meat has not changed within the past two years (2022-2024), but appears to have increased over longer time periods. Perceived risks/concerns about cell-cultivated meat are more prevalent than perceived benefits • Over half of people (59%) think cell-cultivated meat could offer benefits, particularly for animal welfare, the environment and global food availability. • However, more people (85%) have concerns about cell-cultivated meat, particularly about its safety, unnaturalness and impacts on farmers. Peoples’ perceptions of the healthiness/nutritional value of cell-cultivated meat relative to conventional meat appear to be highly malleable • People may be influenced by the type of information they receive about the product (e.g., emphasising benefits/concerns) and the type of products compared. The terms ‘cell-cultivated’ or ‘cell-cultured’ best enable consumers to differentiate the product from conventional meat/seafood or plant-based products • However, terminology alone is insufficient to effectively communicate allergen information to consumers. People are generally unsure about whether regulation will prevent the sale of unsafe cell-cultivated meat, nevertheless, people expect these products to be regulated and clearly labelled • People perceive FSA approval of the product to be moderately to very important, and as slightly more important than other on-label claims such as ‘slaughter-free’, ‘carbon-neutral’, ‘produced without antibiotics’, and ‘non-GMO.’ Although all of these claims are still seen as moderately to very important. • People do not have a strong opinion on whether cell-cultivated meat/seafood should be sold in the same section of the supermarket as conventional meat/seafood.