The European Commission has presented, on the 16 December 2025, its European Biotech Act with the stated ambition of boosting innovation and competitiveness across the EU. The initiative aims to reduce regulatory bottlenecks and improve coordination for biotechnology and biomanufacturing. However, when it comes to food innovation, the Act falls short.
While the Biotech Act introduces welcome improvements to regulatory guidance, notably stronger pre-submission interactions with EFSA, it explicitly excludes novel foods from regulatory sandboxes. Regulatory sandboxes are safe, supervised spaces where innovators can work directly with authorities to test new products and better understand the rules before going to market. This means that innovative food products such as cultivated meat and precision-fermented proteins will not benefit from one of the Act’s most forward-looking tools.
This exclusion is disappointing. Food biotechnology plays a key role in Europe’s sustainability, food security and animal welfare objectives. Yet innovators in this sector continue to face lengthy and costly authorisation processes, with limited opportunities for structured regulatory experimentation.
We regret that food innovation has been left aside in this first draft of the Biotech Act. If Europe truly wants to support innovation across its economy, novel foods must be part of the picture. We hope that upcoming legislative negotiations will correct this oversight.