Regulating a By-Product Commons: Food Safety Governance, Ethical Pluralism, and Institutional Change in the Global Gelatin Economy

Gelatin is conventionally treated as a commodity ingredient, yet its commercial trajectory is governed by institutions as much as by technology. This study examines the global gelatin market through the lens of regulation and public policy, asking how food-safety rules, trade measures, ethical and dietary pluralism, and corporate consolidation shape supply, demand, and legitimacy. The analysis draws on regulatory instruments of the European Union and the United States, annual and interim filings of leading producers, and company announcements from 2025 and 2026. The findings suggest that industry growth rests on a regulatory license to operate: by-product supply is sustained by risk rules that have been progressively recalibrated, as the European Union's 2026 exclusion of gelatine and collagen from import animal-health rules illustrates. Demand is diversifying from confectionery and capsules toward collagen peptides, bioinks, and protein-enriched snacks, while plant-based alternatives and allergen concerns constrain animal-derived products at the margin. Consolidation, exemplified by the planned combination of Rousselot and PB Leiner, concentrates governance capacity in fewer firms. The study concludes that policy coherence on safety, trade, and labeling is a decisive factor in resilient and equitable industry development, while also identifying limitations in the available evidence. Keywords: gelatin governance; animal by-product regulation; transmissible spongiform encephalopathy rules; collagen peptides; plant-based gelling agents; pharmaceutical capsules; food safety regulation; trade policy and tariffs; circular bioeconomy; corporate consolidation; ethical consumption; hydrocolloid substitution.