Pamela Cruz. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
San Francisco-based food innovation company East Just Inc. announced that, after a rigorous review process, its lab-grown chicken was approved for sale in Singapore, which could mark the beginning of a new food in the future.
In a statement the company said that this process is the first regulatory concession at the global level that allows the use of real meat grown directly in a laboratory for human consumption from animal cells.
This breakthrough for the industry builds on Singapore's reputation as a world leader in business, technology and culinary innovation, and emphasizes the country's dedication to entrepreneurial solutions that promote sound environmental management.
According to Eat Just co-founder and CEO Josh Tetrick, "Singapore has for many years been a leader in innovation, from information technology to biological products, and is now a world leader in building a healthier and safer food system.
This regulatory approval, he said, "will be the first of many in Singapore and in other countries. In partnership with the agricultural industry and forward-thinking policymakers, companies like ours can help meet the increased demand for animal protein as our population grows.
It should be noted that the role of cultured meat in creating a safer global food supply has been widely documented, and has even led to an increase in the application of animal cell culture technology for the development of food products in the last decade.
Meat production has increased dramatically in recent years. For example, in 2019 production was estimated at just over 335 million tons, while by 2050 consumption is expected to increase by more than 70 percent.
In addition, public health crises related to conventional meat consumption patterns require much safer, more efficient and less environmentally damaging ways to meet growing consumer demand.
According to safety and quality validations by the Singapore Food Agency, the cultured chicken met the standards for poultry meat, with an extremely low microbiological content and significantly cleaner than conventional chicken.
The analysis also showed that cultured chicken contains a high protein content, a diversified composition of amino acids, a relatively high content of healthy monounsaturated fats and is a rich source of minerals.
And although at the moment this product is significantly more expensive than conventional chicken, as production increases it will be even cheaper than the chicken we are used to buying in supermarkets.
This is a much more sustainable way of meeting the future food needs of the population, since this way of growing meat requires 99 percent less land and up to 96 percent less water.
Thus, the company takes a further step towards the small-scale commercial launch of its new Good Meat brand, details of which will be made known in the future.
