Chinese startup Joes Future Food has showcased what it claims is the country’s first ever cultivated pork belly at the New Technology Conference in Nanjing.
Conference guests were served various dishes containing Joes’ pork belly and pigskin noodles, with feedback said to be very positive. Other cellular agriculture innovations, such as cultivated fat and serum-free growth media, were also revealed at the event.
“We will strive to bring cell-cultured meat to the table”
China’s attitude to cultivated meat
Perceptions of cultivated meat are increasingly positive in China, with research suggesting that 90% of consumers are open to eating it. At the beginning of the year, the country’s five-year agricultural plan made reference to cultivated meat for the first time ever, saying that innovation should be boosted in the sector. This could potentially indicate that the government is willing to provide funding for cultivated meat research.
Pork production line
Last October, Joes Future Food raised $10.9 million in its Series A funding round. The startup said that part of the funding would go towards building a pilot production line for cultivated pork products. In 2019, Joes was the first company in China to produce cultivated meat, and it has also successfully developed a serum-free cell-culture medium.
“The company will further strengthen its core team, increase investment in R&D, and accelerate the industrialization process,” said Dr. Ding Shijie, co-founder and CEO of Joes Future Food. “We will strive to bring cell-cultured meat to the table and provide Chinese consumers with healthier, safer, and lower carbon meat products.”
