Thursday, December 03, 2020

No-kill, lab-grown meat gets world's first regulatory approval

Singapore cleared the way for the sale of cultured chicken made by U.S. startup Eat Just.

By Joseph Guzman | Dec. 2, 2020

credit: Eat Just Inc.


Story at a glance

The real chicken product is made from animal cells sourced through a biopsy of a live animal.
The cells are then grown in bioreactors and fed nutrients including amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, fats and vitamins, which then grow the cells into meat.

The process doesn’t require the slaughter of any livestock, providing a safer, healthier and more sustainable meat product, the company says.

San Francisco start-up Eat Just has received the world’s first regulatory approval to sell its lab-grown chicken meat.

The company announced on Tuesday that after a rigorous consultation and review process its cultured chicken product has been approved for sale in Singapore as an ingredient in chicken bites.

The real chicken product is made from animal cells sourced through a biopsy of a live animal. The cells are then grown in bioreactors and fed nutrients including amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, fats and vitamins, which then grow the cells into meat. The process doesn’t require the slaughter of any livestock, providing a safer, healthier and more sustainable meat product, the company says.

“I think the approval is one of the most significant milestones in the food industry in the last handful of decades,” Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick said in a statement.

“It’s an open door and it’s up to us and other companies to take that opportunity. My hope is this leads to a world in the next handful of years where the majority of meat doesn’t require killing a single animal or tearing down a single tree.”

Eat Just says no antibiotics are used and its cultured chicken has an “extremely low and significantly cleaner microbiological content than conventional chicken.”

The approved chicken bites will initially debut in a Singapore restaurant with plans for wider expansion into retail establishments.

The move comes during a time of heightened awareness about the meat industry’s effects on the environment.

Alternatives to traditional meat products have been growing in popularity recently among fast-food chains.

Plant-based protein maker Beyond Meat currently provides meat alternatives to Carl’s Jr, Del Taco and Dunkin’, while Burger King has seen success with its Impossible Whopper, a plant-based version of its famous Whopper sandwich

MILKWEED


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