By Elishya Perera
SINGAPORE (CWBN)_ Eat Just Inc., a producer of meat and egg substitutes, received approval to sell cultured meat Singapore, making it the first nation to allow the sale of laboratory-created chicken.
The product is created from animal cells without the slaughter of any chickens. The company’s Chief Executive Officer Josh Tetrick said that it has the same taste and flavour as the real chicken.
The move fits into Singapore’s broader food-security agenda, especially amidst the COVID-19 pandemic which has exposed the fragility in supply chains worldwide. Singapore is a densely populated country which relies mostly on imported food products and the country is attempting to accelerate its domestic food production to 30 per cent by 2030 in response to the pandemic.
The cultured meat will debut in Singapore as a chicken bite with breading and seasoning in just one restaurant. Eat Just hopes to expand sales to other restaurants and grocery stores eventually.
Tetrick said the new chicken product will be priced similar to premium chicken for the first six months, and Eat Just intends to reduce cost over time as the company builds global scale. “Eventually we want to get to the place where it is significantly more cost-effective than conventional production,” he said.
However, this could take a while since chicken is one of the most inexpensive proteins available and the approval process for cultured meat products is moving slower in Europe and the US.
Nevertheless, while cultured meat is real meat and not a plant-based substitute, it can still be marketed as a more humane and environmentally sustainable product.
Eat Just is also planning to submit its application for lab-created beef in Singapore during the first half of next year.
