Chicago Workshop Feb 2026: Actively advancing research and methods to evaluate the safety of culture media inputs and related topics:
Outcomes from a working session with industry, academic, and governmental stakeholders
Feb 23, 2026, Chicago, IL
Vireo Advisors & New Harvest hosted a Cultured Meat Safety Initiative (CMSI) working session on February 23, 2026, in Chicago, IL. This working session is the thirteenth in a series focused on developing a research action plan for cultured meat and seafood (CM) safety. This workshop focused specifically on advancing research and methods to evaluate the safety of culture media inputs. This report outlines key outcomes from the session, which engaged 11 participants from 4 countries and 11 organizations. Participants included regulators and governmental scientists, academic researchers, and industry stakeholders from various companies, such as CM producers, culture media suppliers, cell line developers, and commercial laboratories.
The working session was conducted under the Chatham House Rule to promote open discussion. The event began with a brainstorming session in which participants were presented with a list of research topics identified from previous CMSI workshops and active projects. Participants were invited to expand on the list of safety research topics or comment on existing topics. This was followed by an open project pitch session where participants voted to identify research topics for further discussion in breakout groups. During breakouts, participants defined specific research questions and identified actionable steps for conducting safety research. Group discussions throughout the day fostered a shared understanding of safety priorities and actionable plans from breakouts. The session culminated in research roadmaps to address three key safety topics; Microcarriers/Scaffolds, Quality Evaluation of Final Products, and Safety Assessed Media Ingredients (SAMI) List and Growth Factor (GF) Safety.
This workshop was part of CMSI Phase III: Precompetitive Collaboration on Safety Research & Methods Development.
