Singapore approves sale of lab-grown meat in world first

Lab-grown meat has been approved for sale in Singapore, a world first described as a “breakthrough for the global food industry."

The city-state’s Food Agency confirmed on Wednesday that chicken produced by the US firm Eat Just passed its safety standards for use in nuggets.

In the last few years, plant-based alternatives to meat such as “Beyond Meat” have been available in supermarkets. 

However, Eat Just's chicken is of a different category in that it is produced not from plants but from animal tissue grown in laboratories.

The company called the news a “breakthrough for the global food industry."

Josh Tetrick, chief executive of Eat Just said: "I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe."

The raising and production of animals for human consumption is a major contributor to climate change and frequently raises animal welfare issues.

Chickens are also reared on huge stocks of feed — including soybeans — which has been linked to deforestation in the Amazon.

Eat Just was founded in 2011 and is valued at around $1.2 billion. It is not alone in the potentially lucrative lab meat sector - there are more than 20 companies around the world testing lab-grown meat and fish.