Cell-Cultured Meat Development Startups Gather To Contribute To The Environment With Animal-Free Products – JETRO
December 01, 2022
Since the inception of the first in the world novel food regulatory framework in 2019 by Singapore Food Agency (SFA) which requires companies to seek pre-market assessment for novel food such as alternative protein products that do not have a history of being consumed as food, Singapore has seen a significant growth of domestic and foreign startups in the cell-cultured meat space. According to a study (released in April 2022) by the Good Food Institute (GFI), a US non-profit organization, there were 9 cell-cultured meat development companies setting up headquarter in Singapore in 2021, the fourth highest number after United States (26), Israel (14), and the United Kingdom (12). On top of these, there are also many overseas cell-cultured meat development startups establishing their presence in Singapore, such as Eat Just from United States.
Umami Meats is currently a Singapore startup working on the development of cultured meat with target on red snappers, eels, bigeye and other threatened fish at risk. On October 27, the company has invited its partners, including investors and Japanese companies, for its first tasting of fried cultured snapper and fish balls, which was being held at Food Innovation & Resource Centre (FIRC). In an interview with JETRO, CEO Mihir Pershad expressed his aspiration to “protect at least half of seafood by 2050” through the development of cultured meat.
A cross-section of fried meat made with cultured snapper meat that Umami Meats showed at a tasting event on October 27. The appearance and texture are almost the same as real fish (Photo by JETRO)
On June 10, Eat Just broke ground on Asia’s largest cell-cultured meat manufacturing facility and research and development (R&D) facility in Singapore. The facility is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2023 (January ~ March). In December 2020, the company became the first company in the world to commercially sell chicken nuggets made from cultured chicken (see Regional Analysis Report dated February 18, 2022). In addition, Singapore-based Shiok Meats, which develops cultured meat from crustaceans such as shrimp and crabs, is also aiming for commercial sales from 2023. Furthermore, China’s Avant Meats, a developer of cultured fish, announced in April 2021 that it will establish an R&D base and pilot manufacturing facility, which will start operations as early as 2022.
See full video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJ67ISDGyk
Source: JETRO – Chizue Honda, November 07, 2022. Permission required for reproduction
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