They hardly sound like the dishes we might dream of but it seems such delicacies as laboratory-grown foie gras and 3D-printed chocolate are on the way.
And, according to a report, some could be in our shopping baskets as soon as 2035.
Foods grown from animal and plant cells in a lab include steak, chicken and duck foie gras – with two products already being risk-assessed by regulators.
Other unexpected dishes could include edible insects.
They can be sold as whole insects or used as ingredients such as powders added to familiar foods, with four species already on sale under temporary arrangements while they are safety assessed.
The report from the Food Standards Agency said allergen proteins in crustaceans can also be found in insects, which means people with a shellfish allergy could have a similar reaction to eating bug products
Foodstuff such as 3D-printed chocolate could be on supermarket shelves as early as 2035 (file photo)
Food grown from animal and plant cells in a lab include duck foie gras – with two products already being risk-assessed by regulators (file image)
The FSA also looked at ‘largely conceptual innovations’ such as 3D-printed foods, which would allow manufacturers to build foods such as chocolate or mashed potato out of layering edible ingredients from a printer – though these are not expected to reach a broad market in the next five to ten years.
The report said that the new technologies could help create personalised foods, for example, for people who have difficulty swallowing.
Dr Thomas Vincent, of the FSA, said: ‘The food system is always evolving, and as a regulator, we need to keep pace.’
