Singapore has given a US start-up the green light to sell lab-grown chicken meat, in what the firm says is the world’s first regulatory approval for so-called “clean meat” that does not come from slaughtered animals.

GOOD Meat brand was approved for sale by the Singapore Food Standards Authority in December 2020 and is the world’s first farmed meat product to be sold commercially.

 

 

The meat product above is created by culturing animal muscle cells in a controlled environment. Nutrients that are not synthesized by cells such as iron, vitamin B12… will be added to the culture medium to create products with a nutritional value equivalent to slaughtered animals.

Demand for meat substitutes for slaughtered animals is growing due to consumer concerns about health, animal welfare, and the environment. Plant-based meat alternatives are increasingly appearing in supermarkets and restaurants, most commonly from companies Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods.

 

Restaurant 1880 remains the only restaurant in the world that currently sells real farmed meat. This is also the first restaurant in Southeast Asia to pioneer in bringing lab-grown chicken products to menus and serving diners.