WHO Partners With GFI APAC on First Public Health Report on Alternative Proteins for Asia-Pacific

The World Health Organization has signed a multi-year partnership with the Good Food Institute’s Asia-Pacific arm (GFI APAC) to study how alternative proteins could fit into public health policy across the region. It is one of the clearest signs yet that plant-based, fermentation-derived and cultivated foods are moving from climate and innovation agendas into mainstream health policy.

The agreement is with the WHO Asia-Pacific Centre for Environment and Health in the Western Pacific Region (ACE), which is based in South Korea. It was ratified at a ceremony in Seoul and announced on 14 October at the World Food Forum, held at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s headquarters in Rome.

A flagship WHO report on alternative proteins

The centrepiece is a first-of-its-kind WHO report on the role of alternative proteins in the food system. It is intended to anchor a series of seminars and issue-specific technical briefs aimed at building consensus and policy alignment on how these foods could be included in regional public health strategies.

The partnership also funds two technical staff positions at the WHO centre and an external academic researcher, all based in South Korea. The parties say they will work with member states through policy dialogue, consultations, workshops and capacity-building, and are looking for policymakers willing to apply the recommendations at regional, national or international level.

Sandro Demaio, director and head of ACE, said nine in ten deaths in the WHO Western Pacific region are now caused by non-communicable diseases, many of them diet-related, while food systems are putting growing pressure on the environment. He said food systems transformation is a core part of the centre’s five-year strategy, and that the partnership will strengthen the evidence base on sustainable food systems and alternative proteins across their health, environmental and climate dimensions.

Why Asia-Pacific matters for the alt-protein industry

Asia-Pacific is home to around 60% of the world’s population and many of the most active alternative protein hubs, including Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea. Green Queen notes the region accounts for about 45% of global agrifood emissions. Analysts cited by GFI APAC estimate that plant-based, fermentation-derived and cell-cultured proteins would need to make up half of the region’s protein supply by 2060 for it to decarbonise.

GFI APAC also frames the issue around antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotic use in livestock is significantly higher in parts of Asia because of intensive confinement systems, and alternative proteins produced without animals do not need antibiotics during production. Advocates also point to food safety advantages for cultivated meat, such as lower exposure to certain contaminants and foodborne pathogens, and to nutrition benefits when plant-based products replace processed meat. These claims will now be examined in a WHO evidence process rather than asserted by industry.

What it could mean for regulators and manufacturers

For companies, the significance lies less in any immediate market change than in who is now at the table. Public health agencies shape dietary guidelines, school and hospital procurement, nutrition labelling and front-of-pack policy, all of which affect demand for protein products. A WHO-backed evidence base could feed into how national authorities assess the nutritional profile of plant-based meat, whether fermentation-derived proteins appear in dietary guidance, and how cultivated meat is presented to consumers once approved.

The partnership also comes as regulatory pathways in the region keep developing. Singapore remains the most established approval market for novel proteins. South Korea has been building a framework for cell-cultured foods, and Abu Dhabi recently opened a pre-approval tasting pathway for cultivated meat and precision-fermented products. Earlier this year the FAO called on governments to streamline regulatory frameworks to speed up the commercialisation of cultivated proteins and precision-fermented foods.

The WHO has said before that more plant-based options can support both health and climate goals, including in guidance on healthy school food environments published earlier this year. The new collaboration goes further by making alternative proteins a specific subject of WHO technical work in the region.

For alternative protein producers, ingredient suppliers and investors focused on Asia-Pacific, the WHO report will be a document to track. Strong evidence on nutrition and food safety could ease regulatory and procurement conversations. Gaps or caveats in the evidence, particularly around highly processed plant-based products, would point to where reformulation and data generation are still needed.