Meat, dairy and sugar grown in a lab could be on sale in the UK for human consumption for the first time within two years from now, sooner than expected.
The BBC reports today that Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking at how it can speed up the approval process for lab-grown foods.
Such products are grown from cells in small chemical plants.
UK firms have led the way in the field scientifically but feel they have been held back by the current regulations.
Dog food made from meat that was grown in factory vats went on sale in the UK for the first time last month.
The FSA is to develop new regulations by working with experts from high-tech food firms and academic researchers.
It says it aims to complete the full safety assessment of two lab-grown foods within the two-year process it is starting.
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