Marking a historic moment in food history, Eat Just has acquired what is considered to be the world’s first regulatory approval from a government food agency for the sale of lab-grown meat.
Officially approved by the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), lab-grown chicken will be produced locally in Singapore under Eat Just’s new GOOD Meat brand and sold directly to restaurants before becoming available for purchase to the public.
To grow meat in a lab, Eat Just first isolates cells from a chicken without actually needing to kill the animal. The cells are then cultured, moved into a bioreactor, fed with a mix of proteins, amino acids, minerals, sugars, salts and other nutrients before being harvested and prepped. No antibiotics are used in the production.
Compared to conventional chicken, the lab-grown counterpart has a lower and significantly cleaner microbiological content, making it safer for consumption.
“Singapore has long been a leader in innovation of all kinds, from information technology to biologics to now leading the world in building a healthier, safer food system,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just. “I’m sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe. Working in partnership with the broader agriculture sector and forward-thinking policymakers, companies like ours can help meet the increased demand for animal protein as our population climbs to 9.7 billion by 2050.”
All images in this article are courtesy of Eat Just.
