In a move to safeguard the countries agri-food heritage, Italy’s government has approved a bill banning the production of food or feed "from cell cultures or tissues derived from vertebrate animals", Reuters has reported.

The bill will have to be ratified by parliament, but could see anyone breaching the rule fined up to €60,000. In addition to the fine, violations could see factories excluded from obtaining public funding for three years or face total shutdown.

Agriculture lobby Coldiretti praised the move against "synthetic food", saying a ban is needed to safeguard home production "from the attacks of multinational companies".

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