Will Singapore approval for Li Ka-shing backed Eat Just’s lab-grown meat open floodgates for sector in Asia?

The approval for Eat Just’s chicken bites makes everything real, says co-founder of Hong Kong’s first lab-grown meat start-up

Covid-19 accelerated growth in market for meat alternatives in Asia-Pacific in 2020: Euromonitor International

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Chicken bites made from lab-grown cultured chicken developed by Eat Just. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:30pm, 25 Dec 2020Updated: 3:46pm, 25 Dec 2020

Start-ups and investors in the lab-grown meat segment received a massive boost last month when Singapore approved San Francisco-based Eat Just’s cell-based chicken bites.

1880, a members only restaurant in downtown Singapore, became the first eatery in the world to serve Eat Just’s lab-grown meat last week, a development that industry players hope will lead to more jurisdictions allowing the sale of such meat products as early as 2021.

Among them is Carrie Chan Kai-yi, the co-founder of Avant Meats, Hong Kong’s first lab-grown meat start-up. Chan had expected the first regulatory approvals in 2022.

“This is exciting news for all of us, from start-ups to investors. We have developed and invested in something that was previously not allowed to be sold. The [Eat Just] approval makes everything real,” she said.

Grilled fillet made from Eat Just’s lab-grown cultured chicken. Photo: Reuters

The nod for Eat Just’s cell-based chicken bites is significant because cultured meat and meat substitutes are expected to disrupt the multibillion-dollar global meat industry over the coming decades.