February 1, 2021

The Front Lines of Food Tech

Various countries have started setting rules related to the diffusion of cultured meat

Cultured meat multiplies cells taken from animals, as a sustainable means of food procurement, while meat substitutes are derived from soy beans or other plants. Both are attracting attention as next-generation meat foods. This is the front line of food tech, which applies leading-edge technologies to the field of food, but the design of systems to ensure safety and regulate aspects such as labeling still has a long way to go.

Countries have started formulating rules, and cultured meat won formal national approval for the first time in December 2020. The government of Singapore approved the sale of cultured chicken meat from the US startup Eat Just. Apparently the chicken meat is already being supplied to restaurants in Singapore.

Cultured meat is produced by tissue culturing cells from edible parts of animals, in laboratories and elsewhere. The tissue grows in a culture medium that contains sugars, amino acids, minerals, etc. Tens of companies, mostly startups in Europe, North America, and Israel, are competing in this area of development, but Eat Just is the only one that has clearly brought a product to market so far.