World’s First Regulatory Approval For Cultivated Meat Begins “New Space Race For The Future of Food”

Disclaimer: Lab Grown Meat/Cell-Based is not vegan. It is a sustainable solution for people looking for meat alternatives. 

December 1, 2020

The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and Eat Just, Inc. have undertaken a rigorous approval process to bring cultivated meat to market in Singapore.

In a milestone for global food production, the Singapore government’s food regulation authority Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has approved the sale of meat cultivated from animal cells in the city-state. The approval, granted to global food technology company Eat Just, Inc., follows years of exploration in the alternative protein space and careful consideration of the best approach for regulating cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood products.

Cultivated meat, also known as cultured or cell-based meat, is produced by taking a sample of cells from an animal and using a mixture of nutrients to grow those cells into meat. This process would bypass the highly resource-intensive system of raising and slaughtering animals, thereby saving vast tracts of land and amounts of water, and vastly reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

By farming the cells directly instead of farming animals, cultivated meat production would also eliminate considerable public health risks by not requiring antibiotics at scale, reducing the likelihood of pathogen contamination, and eliminating zoonotic diseases such as avian flu and swine flu - all of which have come under increased scrutiny in conventional meat production in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Development of the cultivated meat industry comes against the backdrop of rapid growth in the broader alternative protein landscape, with billions invested globally in cultivated and plant-based meat substitutes over the last few years.

Eat Just, which last month also revealed plans to jointly open their largest plant protein isolate production facility in Singapore, appears to be the first company to have secured such cultivated meat approval. Singapore currently imports over 90 percent of its food, but through investment in local production and innovation, the country is aiming to meet its “30 by 30” goal of producing 30 percent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. According to SFA, Eat Just’s cultivated chicken was recently allowed to be sold in Singapore as an ingredient in the company’s chicken bites. Other products reportedly in the pipeline include Indian-born Dr. Sandhya Sriram’s company Shiok Meats’ cultivated shrimp, and Ants Innovate’s cultivated meat.

Eat Just's Cell-Based Chicken Bites | Image Courtesy: CNBC

GFI India worked with the Centre for Cellular Molecular Biology (CCMB) and National Research Centre on Meat (NRCMeat) to secure 4.6cr in funding for cultivated meat research from the Government of India Department of Biotechnology in 2019, and also has an agreement with the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai to set up a Centre of Excellence focused on advancing the sector. Delhi-based cultivated meat startup Clear Meat was formed from some of these early incubation activities, but with the industry growing rapidly globally, more investment will be needed to realise its potential in India.

“India stands to benefit immensely from these transformative technologies, with the promise of a highly sustainable, affordable supply of protein to target malnutrition, and the creation of a sunrise industry to support resilient, future proof jobs. This is the 21st century space race. Just as India has shown our capabilities in innovating highly affordable, high-quality space technology, we can also be at the forefront of alternative proteins - but it will demand a forward-looking research and business environment to make this a reality,” said Deshpande.

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Media inquiries: Varun Deshpande, Managing Director at The Good Food Institute India on varund@gfi.org or +91 9820808460

The Good Food Institute India is part of an independent global network of non-profits which builds the alternative protein sector across science, business, and policy, in order to make protein delicious, affordable, and accessible. GFI India advances open-access research, mobilizes resources and talent, and empowers partners across the food system to create a sustainable, secure, and just protein supply. Read more here.