What happened:
Singapore has approved lab grown chicken meat for human consumption. This is the world’s first regulatory approval for ‘clean’ lab grown meat, that does not come from animals. The Singapore Food Agency (SFA) stated that a working group comprising of experts reviewed meat samples, manufacturing control and safety testing of the cultured chicken of the ‘clean meat’ company Eat Just, before granting them approval to sell their product commercially in Singapore. Eat Just is a San Francisco based startup that produces lab grown meat. The company states that, “no antibiotics were used in the process, and the chicken has lower microbiological content than conventional chicken.”. The company’s lab grown meat will, initially, be made available in Singapore in the form of chicken nuggets. “The first-in-the-world regulatory allowance of real, high-quality meat created directly from animal cells for safe human consumption paves the way for a forthcoming small-scale commercial launch in Singapore”, according to Eat Just.
The background:
Lab grown meat is pitched as ethical meat consumption, however, it is more expensive than other plant based ‘clean meats’. Eat Just had previously said that they would sell their chicken nuggets for $50, although the cost has come down since then it is still more expensive than most chicken on the market. Eat Just’s lab grown chicken meat rivals premium chicken in terms of price. According to Barclays, the market for meat alternatives could be worth $140bn (£104bn) within the next decade, or about 10% of the $1.4tn global meat industry.