Do you have chicken? Singapore First To Approve Lab Grown Meat | Singapore news



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Eat Just’s meat, based in the United States, is created from animal cells, not plant substitutes. After chicken, beef could be next.

Eat Just Inc., a producer of meat and egg substitutes, has been cleared to sell its lab-created chicken in Singapore, which becomes the first government to allow the sale of cultured meat.

The product, created from animal cells without the slaughter of chickens, will debut in Singapore under the GOOD Meat brand as a bite of chicken with breading and seasoning in a single restaurant. Eat Just is initially working with the local producer of the Food Innovation and Resource Center to produce the cultured chicken. Additionally, the company is buying more equipment to expand sales to other restaurants and ultimately to grocery stores.

“We want Singapore to be the hub of our manufacturing globally,” CEO Josh Tetrick said in an interview. “They are just thinking about the future in creating a favorable environment for this type of work.”

He added that the flavor and taste of the chicken is the same as the real thing.

Singapore is moving quickly to allow the sale of cultured meat, a move that fits into its broader food security agenda. The densely populated nation, which relies primarily on other countries for food, has deepened its focus on food enough for its 5.7 million people as the Covid-19 crisis exposes fragility in supply chains throughout. the world.

In response to the pandemic, Singapore is looking to produce 30% of its food by 2030, up from less than 10% today. It has recently accelerated funding for local farms.

“Singapore really spent a lot more time and energy getting this correct result than Western Europe and the US,” said Tetrick.

The new chicken product will be priced similar to premium chicken for the first six months, Tetrick said, adding that the cost will drop over time as the company builds on a global scale. “Ultimately we want to get to the point where it’s significantly cheaper than conventional manufacturing.”

This may take a while, since chicken is one of the cheapest proteins. In the United States, it is also the most popular, consuming more than any other meat. Grocery stores regularly sell $ 5 whole chickens, and some restaurants offer $ 1 chicken sandwiches.

Human, sustainable

At the same time, fast food chains and grocery stores have quickly added meat alternatives to their menus. Although cultured meat is real meat and not a plant-based substitute, it can be marketed as more humane and environmentally sustainable.

In Singapore, cultured burgers could be next. Eat Just plans to apply for the lab-created beef there during the first half of next year. The approval process for cultured meat products is moving more slowly in Europe and the United States

San Francisco-based Eat Just, which isn’t profitable yet, is planning an initial public offering in the US at some point.

“Our plan is to reach operational profitability by the end of next year,” Tetrick said, adding that the company will look to go public at some point later.

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