Before a product for human use or consumption can come to market and engage mass toll processing services, it, of course, needs to be tested to ensure that it is safe. There are many issues surrounding testing of the likes of chemicals and drugs on animals, ranging from the ethical problems it raises to the fact that there are many examples where products passed animal testing yet still failed when it comes to human testing.

However, the process of testing could soon be revolutionised, with scientists from the Netherlands saying that they are in the early stages of developing technology which will create organ-like human tissue from stem cells, according to Horizon Magazine.

Researchers are testing whether cultured ‘organs’, created in vitro, may be able to remove the reliance on animal testing for products in the future.

Dr Helmuth Gehart of the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands,` who manages the project, says that the set-up is a complicated one: “we’re looking at the intestines and the liver but the interconnections and interplay between organs is something that is very difficult to test in an in-vitro set up”; however, he believes it could change the future of chemical and drug testing.

Animal testing has been banned for cosmetics in the EU since 2013, however, is still commonplace for other industries where it is considered a vital part of the process.

Though in the early stages, a ‘proof-of-concept’ study is due to be completed by 2020, however if successful, adoption will be down to regulators within the industry.