“Breakthrough in cultivated meat is fast approaching”

Animal-friendly meat is becoming a reality: on a small scale, cultivated meat producers are now taking the first steps towards consumers. Approval in Europe will follow: “It won’t take five years anymore,” says pioneer Mosa Meat.

Meat from the bioreactor

It is real meat, but without animal suffering, with a smaller ecological footprint and guaranteed clean and safe. And it tastes good, too. An illusion? No. Ever since the presentation of the very first cultivated meat burger in 2013, Mosa Meat has been working on the development of a completely new industry, which produces meat out of cell cultures in bioreactors. No more cows need to go to the slaughterhouse. The day when this cultivated meat becomes available to consumers is fast approaching.

In fact, it has already arrived. “Producer Supermeat has opened a restaurant in Israel where consumers can taste cultivated chicken products. In Singapore, Eat Just has received approval to market two products: chicken nuggets and chicken wings. They do this on a very small scale for now, but still…” Sales director Martijn Everts of Mosa Meat has no doubt about it: this is going to happen anyway. Although it will be some time before the products are in the supermarkets. He will tell more about it at the RetailDetail Food Congress, on 9 June in Antwerp.

Waiting for approval

The most important next step is the official approval. The EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, has a procedure for approving novel foods. Other countries and regions partially adopt that framework. You have to count on two years, though. “At least, because if something goes wrong with the production or the request for approval, the clock just stops and another six months can easily be added. In Singapore, you have a timeframe of six to nine months for such a file.”

Several companies in the sector are now working together to engage with local food safety authorities. “We have united with some eighteen colleagues in an association: Cellular Agriculture Europe. They almost all make different products: one focuses on foie gras, another does chicken, we do beef… The technology can also differ, as can the scale and maturity: you have companies with solid funding, strategic partners and more than a hundred employees, others are still in the early stages.”

60 million euro subsidy

An important evolution is that governments are releasing subsidies to make this transition possible. Recently, the Dutch government allocated 60 million euros through the National Growth Fund, for a public ecosystem for cellular agriculture: the largest public investment in cultured meat and precision fermentation ever. “That money will go to stimulating research, to a pilot plant and to setting up a training program for operators. In this industry, we need a lot of bioreactors that also need to be operated. Those training courses have to take shape now.”

As in the meat substitutes market, the Netherlands clearly wants to play a pioneering role here. “We must keep that ambition high. We have a large agricultural sector. If you want to remain relevant in the future, you have to bring unique value. That is not in mass production, but in high-quality technology and innovation. There is a lot of interest in this new sector, people find it exciting. Recently, on King’s Day, even the King came to visit us in Maastricht.”

Breakthrough nears

A month ago, Dutch parliament passed a motion that should make it possible to organise tasting sessions for cultivated meat under certain conditions. That brings the breakthrough one step closer. “It is no longer a question of five to ten years, certainly not. Wherever there is a framework for approval, it is possible to launch. That wasn’t there a few years ago, it’s really different now.” Mosa Meat is now preparing to file in several countries.

However, scale remains a major challenge. “Scale determines when we will see it in the supermarket. That will take a while. If we get approval today, we won’t be in the shelves at Delhaize tomorrow.” But there is no doubt that the interest is there: “Last week we participated in Albert Hein‘s ‘Beter Eten Festival’, even though we were the odd man out there. In her book, CEO Marit van Egmond mentioned Mosa Meat as one of the companies that fit perfectly into the retailer’s mission.”

Preparing the market

And that is why Mosa Meat is now coming out with the sustainable cultured meat story more often. “We want to prepare the market, create awareness and spread knowledge. We also want to learn from people’s reactions. That’s why I’m prepared to come and tell our story on your event.”

What next steps does the cultivated meat industry still need to overcome before products appear in restaurants and supermarkets? That is what Martijn Everts of Mosa Meat will reveal at the RetailDetail Food Congress, which will take place in Antwerp on 9 June. Also on stage that day: speakers from Deloitte, Delhaize, Coca-Cola, Nestlé, Kriket, Pieter Pot, VLAM and Gorillas. Food professionals know where to go. Early bird tickets can be ordered until 18 May via the button below.