Fungus-based meat substitutes and the FDA

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) Executive Director Michael F Jacobson has released a statement regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s lack of curiosity in the safety of Quorn-brand meat substitutes.

According to Jacobson, the vat-grown, fungus-based product should have set off alarm bells at the FDA at first glance. The fungus at issue, Fusarium venenatum, had never before been used in human food before it became Quorn. (‘Venenatum’, inauspiciously, is Latin for poisonous.) A recent article in The Washington Post claimed that the company’s own study indicated that almost 5% of test eaters became ill after eating Quorn.

But since Quorn’s introduction, CSPI claims to have collected more than 2000 adverse reaction reports from consumers who have eaten Quorn. Some have had nausea, cramps or diarrhoea; others have vomited so forcefully they’ve burst blood vessels in their eyes. Others had life-threatening anaphylactic reactions. And two deaths - one in California and the other in Sweden - appear to have been caused by the meat substitute.

“The FDA should have pulled this dangerous product off shelves a decade ago,” said Jacobson.