2026-05 Webinar on regulatory sandboxes

New foodstuffs or new ingredients often face obstacles and hurdles to enter the EU market, and it seems to many of us that the precautionary principle is unfriendly to food innovations. This may explain why regulatory sandboxes are increasingly seen by some in the EU food debate as a cure all.

The UK Food Standard Agency (FSA) opened a regulatory sandbox for cell-cultivated products back in February 2025. The European Commission introduced the concept of regulatory sandboxes in its Biotech Act I proposal, which surprisingly excludes novel foods…

In this context, Dr Hannah Lester, Atova’s CEO & Principal Consultant and Head of Regulatory Strategy at PARIMA presented key insights about the UK’s regulatory sandbox on cell-cultivated products to the members of EU Specialty Food Ingredients. Dr Lester also shared her perspective as an industry participant in the platform.