June 2023 was a momentous month for the cultivated meat industry, as it continues to navigate its way to the mainstream. The industry is buzzing with developments ranging from regulatory approvals to multi-million dollar investments, all promising to transform the future of food.
Of course, the biggest news came from the USA with significant progress in regulation for the sector. Upside Foods and Eat Just achieved a major milestone, earning USDA label approval for their cultivated meat products. We will see cultivated meat products on the market this year ! This is the result of a unique collaboration between FDA, USDA and US cultivated meat companies. Other countries will probably follow the movement, and we can expect authorization processes to accelerate in the coming months. It is very good news, as the climate crisis and concerns over food security are increasingly influencing consumer behavior and policy decisions. A stark reminder of the environmental toll of traditional meat production came from a United Nations report indicating that meat’s impact on the climate is even worse than previously thought.
June saw a flurry of investment activity in the cultivated meat sector. CellX, a pioneer in China, secured $6.5M to launch the country’s first cultivated meat pilot facility. In South Korea, CellMEAT raised $13M after developing cultivated shrimp and caviar. Uncommon, a Cambridge-based startup, secured €28 million to bring cultivated pork to the mainstream. Meanwhile, renowned Chef Marcus Samuelsson invested in Aleph Farms and will advise on product development and go-to-market strategies.
The month also witnessed strides in infrastructure and technology. Brazil’s JBS began building what it claims will be the world’s largest lab-grown meat factory in Spain, aiming to produce over 1,000 metric tons (and up to 4,000 metric tons) of cultivated meat annually. In the UK, Extracellular launched license-free cell banks to support early-stage cultivated meat research. And in Malaysia, Cell AgriTech plans to open a plant in Penang to produce lab-grown meat by 2025.
As the sector grows, so do questions around its impact and feasibility. In a thought-provoking piece, Dr. Carla Molento from the Federal University of Paraná in Brazil questioned whether the rise of alternative meat should worry veterinarians, suggesting that alternative meats could dramatically reduce the need for food animals. Navigating regulatory landscapes and securing public acceptance remain significant hurdles. Policymaking tends to favor established industries with entrenched lobbyists, creating a challenging environment for emerging cell-based businesses. And, controversially, Deloitte suggested the UK consider a system of “collaborative regulation” to fast-track lab-grown meat approval, a shift from the existing approvals process.
News
Industrializing Cultivated Meats & Seafood Summit – July 25-27, 2023 – Boston June 20, 2023
Our 2023 iteration boasts a larger than ever speaker faculty, with 85% novel insights covering the biggest bottlenecks to accelerating cultivated meat and seafood to … Read more
UN numbers say meat is bad for the climate. The reality is worse. June 18, 2023
Policymakers now face the gargantuan task of not just convincing the meat and dairy industries to accept limits to their business models, but also of … Read more
U.S. meat demand declining, still remains above pre-pandemic levels June 17, 2023
U.S. consumer demand for meat peaked during the middle of 2022 and has been steadily dropping ever since, however while the decline is notable, April … Read more
Future Food-Tech Alternative Proteins Summit – June 27-28 – New York June 15, 2023
Future Food-Tech’s Alternative Proteins Summit returns to New York in 2023, bringing together the world’s leading players from the alt-protein industry to delve into the … Read more
Should the rise of alternative meat worry veterinarians? June 3, 2023
Dr. Carla Molento, a professor at the Federal University of Paraná in southern Brazil, anticipates that “alt meat” will dramatically lessen the need for food … Read more
Mitigating Risk and Capturing Opportunity: The Future of Alternative Proteins June 1, 2023
Food security is a cornerstone of human development, economic development, and national security. But the production of food can itself confer and exacerbate certain global … Read more
Compagnies and key players
Upside Foods, Eat Just Earn USDA Label Approval for Cultivated Meat: ‘A Major Step Forward’ June 29, 2023
California’s Upside Foods earns USDA label approval for its cultivated meat just days after Eat Just earned the same clearance for its cultivated chicken, bringing … Read more
UK: Extracellular Launches Licence-Free Cell Banks to Support Cultivated Meat Research June 28, 2023
UK CDMO Extracellular announces the launch of new low-cost cell banks — free from licensing or commercial restrictions — intended for early-stage cultivated meat companies … Read more
CellX Secures $6.5M to Launch China’s First Cultivated Meat Pilot Facility & Tasting Space June 26, 2023
To date (including this round), the company has raised $20 million. Its flagship product, a cultivated chicken breast, passed to the finals of the XPRIZE Feed … Read more
UPSIDE is approved for sale in the US! Here’s what you need to know June 22, 2023
Today, we’re beyond thrilled to announce that we’ve made history again — UPSIDE Foods has now received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) … Read more
Korea’s CellMEAT Raises $13M After Developing Cultivated Shrimp & Caviar June 21, 2023
South Korea-based cultivated seafood company CellMEAT has raised 17.4 billion KRW ($13 million) in Series A funding. The round was led by previous investors BNK … Read more
Chef Marcus Samuelsson Invests in Aleph Farms, Plans to Serve Aleph Cuts Cultivated Steaks June 14, 2023
In his role with Aleph Farms, Samuelsson will advise the company in a culinary capacity, including product development and go-to-market strategies. He has also invested … Read more
Cambridge-based Uncommon raises €28 million to scale cultivated pork to mainstream June 13, 2023
To support its development, Uncommon, a startup leveraging cell technologies for the health of humanity, starting with cultivated pork, has raised €28 million in Series … Read more
Brazil’s JBS Starts Building Lab-Grown Meat Factory in Spain June 12, 2023
The factory, which JBS claims it will be the world’s largest lab-grown meat plant, should produce more than 1,000 metric tons of cultivated meat per … Read more
You can try and pretend it’s all-natural and call yourself ‘Nothing to See Here Foods,’ but no one’s going to believe it, especially in the … Read more
Malaysian firm building RM20m plant in Penang, aims to sell lab-grown meat by 2025 June 2, 2023
Malaysia could soon produce its own cultivated meat locally in just two more years. A home-based company called Cell AgriTech Sdn Bhd is setting up … Read more
Market
From Burgers to Biotech: Navigating the Alternative Protein Business Model Landscape June 27, 2023
In this article, I delve into the world of alternative proteins, exploring different business models that companies adopt and examining how these models are valued. … Read more
Speaking at a panel debate moderated by AFN at SynBioBeta, three high-profile cultivated meat startups acknowledged that the media narrative around the technology has changed, … Read more
Laws, ethics and lobbies
Upside Foods, Eat Just Earn USDA Label Approval for Cultivated Meat: ‘A Major Step Forward’ June 29, 2023
California’s Upside Foods earns USDA label approval for its cultivated meat just days after Eat Just earned the same clearance for its cultivated chicken, bringing … Read more
Government mulls fast-track for lab-grown meat approval June 16, 2023
One of Deloitte’s most controversial suggestions is that the UK should adopt a system of “collaborative regulation” under which, instead of the existing approvals process … Read more
Cruelty-Free Cultivated Meat Just Took a Step Closer to US Approval June 15, 2023
In a post on LinkedIn, Eat Just revealed that Sanah Baig, the USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics had visited its headquarters … Read more
Texas governor signs new labeling law for plant-based and cultivated meat June 11, 2023
As for cultivated meat, it’s unlikely that any state labeling law will be enforced. Federal labeling law supersedes that of individual states. The USDA and … Read more
Inside the Battle Between Big Ag and Lab-Grown Meat June 6, 2023
Policymaking in D.C. tends to favor the established folks with entrenched lobbyists. Such a situation can be unfavorable to the cell-based businesses looking to influence … Read more
Other alternatives to meat
USDA aims to tighten ‘humane,’ antibiotic-free meat labels June 30, 2023
The effort comes as USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service faces pressure to tighten oversight of marketing claims on packaged food. Consumers often pay a … Read more
US meat-alternatives maker Meati Foods cuts jobs June 19, 2023
US-based meat-alternatives company Meati Foods has laid off 5% of its workforce having opened a new production facility in Colorado in January. Meati Foods revealed … Read more
Plant-based fat mimics the texture of animal fat in bakery products June 10, 2023
FaTRIX offers a protein-based alternative to butter and other animal fats found in pastries and bakery products. According to CEO and co-founder Itai Cohen, previous … Read more
Seafood without the catch? Cultivated salmon fat in development for ‘next level’ plant-based seafood June 9, 2023
For Upstream Foods’ CEO, taste and fat are interlinked. “When we’re talking about taste, we’re talking about fat,” she told delegates at the event. “To … Read more
Plant-based meat manufacturing capacity and pathways for expansion – The Good Food Institute June 7, 2023
The plant-based meat category has experienced strong growth over the past decade and supply chains must keep pace to avoid shortages. This analysis by GFI … Read more
The Dirty Business Of Fats And Why Alternatives Are Key To Future-Proofing Our Food System June 4, 2023
Each year, 221.5 million tons of fats and oils are produced globally, a yearly average of 27 kg per person. The UN predicts that by … Read more