Chicken meat from cellular agriculture produced by SuperMeat in Israel has received kosher certification from the most globally recognized kashrut certification agency, just days before the Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah). (1)
An important recognition not only for the Jewish community but also for the Muslim community and for all consumers who-regardless of creed-put their trust in the food safety and quality of kosher-certified foods (2,3).
Upside Food and Good Meat’s ‘cultured chicken cell meat’ has meanwhile been given the green light for production and marketing in the US. While still from Israel there is a prospect of using protein from tobacco leaves to cut production costs.
1) SuperMeat, chicken meat grown from kosher certified cellular agriculture
SuperMeat
takes cells from a fertilized egg-before the first bloodstains appear, in the face of the Jewish ban on ingesting even minute traces of blood in eggs-and places them in a fermenter where they mature into chicken meat tissue.
OU Kosher of New York, the largest kosher certification agency on the planet, has therefore determined that chicken meat produced in the laboratory by Tel Aviv-based SuperMeat adheres to mehadrin standards, the strictest level of kashrut supervision.
2) Kosher, guidelines for cultured meat coming soon.
OU (Orthodox Union) certification comes from a series of extensive halachic discussions and scientific reviews. The evaluations focused on issues related to avian embryogenesis-i.e., the first weeks of development after fertilization of a chicken egg-and stem cells.
This result forms the basis for a careful analysis of the supply-chain and production process of cultured meat, with a view to drafting appropriate kosher guidelines for other companies in the industry. OU Kosher and SuperMeat will collaborate on a line of cultured products made with the highest level of kashrut supervision.
3) ‘Cultured chicken cell meat,’ green light for placing on the US market.
‘Cultured chicken cell meat’ -from the beginning authorized only in the tiny island of Singapore-is now at the starting ribbons in the U.S. market, after the first approvals occurred in recent months:
– November 16, 2022 U.S. Food and Drug Administration expressed no objection to Upside Food ‘s ‘cultured chicken cell material’ thus setting up a 57,000 sq. m. production facility in Rubicon, Illinois, (4)
– March 20, 2023 FDA then approved the production process and recognized the safety of Good Meat, Inc.’s chicken meat from cellular agriculture. (with offices in Alameda, California, USA, and Singapore), (5,6)
– June 21, 2023 FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service), at USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture), gave the go-ahead to market ”cultured chicken cell meat” from Upside Foods and Good Meat. (7)
4) Prospects for authorization in other countries
The green light in the U.S. to cultured chicken meats and the first endorsements in principle, from kosher and halal certification bodies, set the stage for the licensing of these novel foods in Israel as well as in the Persian Gulf, where sensitivity to food innovation is more pronounced than elsewhere.
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority)-in the scientific symposium organized on March 11-12, 2023-confirmed that the conditions exist for assessing the suitability of ‘cell culture-derived food’ for human consumption in the same way as other products derived from precision fermentation. (8)
In the Netherlands, € 60 m of public funds have been invested in a € 252 m plan aimed at building a thriving ecosystem of cellular agriculture. And pending novel food approvals, from July 1, 2023, the government has authorized ‘consumer testing’ of meat from cellular agriculture. (9)
5) Investors in waiting
More than 110 startups and companies in the field of Alt Meat from cellular agriculture have so far raised more than US$ 3 billion in investment, planet-wide. Public and private investors therefore show some caution, not about the technology nor the products but about their ability to compete with traditional meats on consumer prices as well. (10)
Jerusalem-based Future Meats – an absolute pioneer in the development of an industrial production plant for ‘cultured cell meats’ in Rehovot, Northern Israel, as noted (11) – is in fact the industry enterprise that has garnered the most investment to date. US$ 347 million, including from Tyson Foods and ADM (Archer Daniels Midland). (12)
6) Protein from tobacco leaves
Israel-not surprisingly the global leader in R&D investment (4.9 percent GDP)-also stands out in this area for ‘innovation within innovation.’ Thus BioBetter, a startup based in Kiryat Shmona (Northern Israel), has identified tobacco leaves as a useful resource from which to extract proteins-insulin and transferrin in particular-and the growth factor FGF2.
BioBetter then grows tobacco plants to provide substrates for cellular agriculture, at costs up to 100 times lower than today. ‘Cultured meat is still very expensive compared to conventional meat, and the key is to minimize growth substrate costs‘ (Dr. Amit Yaari, BioBetter, CEO).
7) Interim Conclusions
It is not easy to believe that cellular agriculture will be able to replace animal products (meat, fish and dairy products) any time soon, nor can its potential impact on supply chains that still employ nearly two billion people and contribute to global food security be underestimated (13,14).
FAO on the other hand highlighted the essential role of animal protein in human nutrition and also stressed the need for a series of interventions on animal husbandry to reduce its impact on the environment (15,16).
It seems clear in any case how precision fermentation will contribute to the protein ration of populations-along with ‘plant-based foods,’ microalgae, mycoproteins, and insects (17)-and it will not be possible to hinder its development with aprioristic national bans, such as the one now being debated in Italy. (18)
Dario Dongo
Notes
(1) Leah Douglas. Lab-grown meat can be kosher and halal, experts say. https://tinyurl.com/3edyb8s8 Reuters. 11.9.23
(2) Mohd Izhar Ariff Mohd Kashim, Alia Aryssa Abdul Haris, Sahilah Abd. Mutalib, Nurina Anuar, Safiyyah Shahimi (2023). Scientific and Islamic perspectives in relation to the Halal status of cultured meat. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2022.103501
(3) EunHa Jeong, Qian Yang, SoJung Lee & Robert Bosselman (2019). Factors for non-Jewish consumers’ kosher food choice: An investigation of the food quality perception, Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 22:6, 529-548, doi: 10.1080/15378020.2019.1658514
(4) FDA Completes First Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made Using Animal Cell Culture Technology. https://tinyurl.com/bdfvdk6j FDA Constituent Update, November 16, 2022
(5) FDA. Human Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells Inventory. https://tinyurl.com/5txmz5rc Last update 26.3.23
(6) Good Meat, Inc. is the ‘cultured cell division’ of Eat Just, which already markets a ‘plant-based’ egg substitute, approved in the European Union as a novel food. V. Dario Dongo, Andrea Adelmo Della Penna. Novel Foods, EFSA’s green light for mung bean protein extracts. Eat Just’s vegetable egg. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.11.21
(7) FSIS Responsibilities in Establishments Producing Cell-Cultured Meat and Poultry Food Product. https://tinyurl.com/4w3ymhn7 USDA. June 21, 2023
(8) EFSA’s Scientific Colloquium 27 ‘Cell culture-derived foods and food ingredients ‘. https://tinyurl.com/yj28z4m4 11.-12 March 2023
(9) Code of Practice for Safely Conducting Tastings of Cultivated Foods Prior to EU Approval (2023). https://tinyurl.com/3654ryar Cellular Agriculture Netherlands (CAN)
(10) Leah Douglas. As lab-grown meat hits menus, the next investor hurdle is scaling. https://tinyurl.com/muh8camm Reuters. 20.7.23
(11) Dario Dongo. Israel, Future Meat. First lab-grown meat industry kicks off. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 4.7.21
(12) Ricky-Ben David. Israel’s Future Meat raises $347m, largest investment for cultured meat firm to date. https://tinyurl.com/t756tnnh The Times of Israel. 19.12.21
(13) Guido Cortese. Climate and antibiotic resistance. Will lab meat save us? GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 9.1.20
(14) Dario Dongo, Isis Consuelo Sanlucar Chirinos. Alternative proteins are not enough to create sustainable food systems. IPES Food Report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 16.5.22
(15) Marta Strinati, Dario Dongo. Animal foods needed for nutrition and health, FAO report. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 8.5.23
(16) Dario Dongo, Marina De Nobili. Animal husbandry, FAO proposes 5 areas of action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 29.8.20
(17) Dario Dongo, Giulia Pietrollini. Alternative protein sources to meat, Alt Meat. Which ones and why? GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 21.1.23
(18) Dario Dongo. Italy, cellular agriculture banned by law? Unconstitutional bill. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 2.4.23
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE - GIFT - Food Times) and Égalité.
