(Bloomberg) -- The UK will become the first country in Europe to sell cultivated meat after regulators cleared a local startup to produce cell-based chicken for pets.
With the regulatory approval in place, Meatly plans to start producing commercial samples of its pet food this year as it works on reducing costs and scaling production to reach industrial volumes in the next three years, it said in a statement Wednesday.
“Pet parents are crying out for a better way to feed their cats and dogs meat,” Meatly’s Chief Executive Officer Owen Ensor said in the statement. “We can now continue our mission to give consumers an easy choice.”
Cultured meat has attracted attention in the past five years with its promise of curbing the environmental damage caused by conventionally produced meat. But the industry has struggled due to diminishing investment, difficulties with scaling up, and a political backlash in some countries.
Cultivated, or cell-based, meat is created by harvesting cells from live animals and providing them with nutrients, so they’ll grow in bioreactors before eventually becoming a consumer-ready meat product.
Obtaining approval for human consumption in Europe is expected to be a protracted process, prompting local lab-grown meat startups to look to Asia and the US for future growth. While America and Singapore have allowed sales of cultivated chicken for humans, the amounts sold so far have been minuscule.
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
