The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) now takes an average of 46 days to make its first request for more information, down from 195 days. This follows the launch of a UK sandbox for cell-cultivated products and a Business Support Service.

This carries an important message for Denmark and the EU: clearer guidance, earlier dialogue and sufficient regulatory capacity can help emerging food companies navigate the route towards approval better and faster.

For businesses developing new proteins, fermentation-based ingredients and other emerging foods, that predictability matters well beyond the regulatory process. Knowing what evidence is needed - and when - helps companies plan studies, raise capital and prepare for production.

Sandboxes turn difficult questions into shared learning  

The UK’s cell-cultivated products sandbox offers one way to address the challenges innovators often face. By bringing regulators and innovators into structured dialogue, it helps build a shared understanding of how food regulation applies to emerging technologies.

Participation does not confer authorisation or priority access to the market. Its value lies in resolving technical questions and turning the findings into public guidance that can help the wider sector.

The fact-finding mission identified four overall ingredients for success: dedicated funding, senior political backing, strong coordination and an organizational culture that carries learning beyond the sandbox itself.

That regulatory work sits alongside public investment in innovation. According to an analysis published by GFI Europe in February 2025, the UK government has invested €145 million in R&I funding in alternative protein innovation since 2021 UK National Food Strategy. This excludes the funding for the CCP Sandbox, which we view as regulatory capacity rather than research and innovation spending.  

A practical agenda for Denmark and Europe

For Denmark, one immediate lesson is the value of a clearly defined pre-application service. Companies need to know what to prepare, which questions national authorities can resolve and when EFSA - The European Food Safety Authority or the European Commission - needs to be involved.

Regulatory sandboxes could address specific questions concerning emerging foods, precision fermentation and microbial cultures. Early involvement of EFSA, where possible, could help ensure that the knowledge generated supports subsequent EU applications.

The ambition is concrete: help promising biosolutions move from development towards approval and production in Europe, with high safety standards and greater predictability for the companies and investors bringing them to market.

Read more in the report here.

For further information regarding Biosolutions Forum+ or regulatory sandboxes, feel free to reach out to Anders Kroman Liin – ankl@danskerhverv.dk  

‍