Dutch cultivated pork company Meatable announces that it has submitted a dossier to hold the country’s first legally sanctioned cultivated meat tasting.
As soon as the experts give the green light, Meatable will host the first-ever tasting of its cultivated pork products. Only last November, the company opened a new pilot facility to expand the production ahead of a cultivated pork launch poised for 2024.
Krijn de Nood, co-founder and CEO at Meatable, said: “We can’t wait to invite people to try our delicious pork sausages and experience for themselves that it doesn’t just look and taste like meat, it is meat.”
The first EU tastings of cultivated beef
The news follows the recent launch of an independent Expert Committee by Cellular Agriculture Netherlands (CANS) on behalf of the Dutch government to evaluate requests for cultivated meat and seafood tastings.
Mosa Meat (cultivated beef) and Upstream Foods (cultivated salmon fat) welcomed the establishment of the Expert Committee.
“Mosa Meat will be applying soon to host the first legal tastings of our cultivated beef”
Last year, the Netherlands became the first country within the EU to allow pre-approval of cultivated meat tastings, even before an EU novel food approval. Previously, only Singapore and Israel have allowed similar tastings.
The Dutch Government, in collaboration with Meatable, Mosa Meat, and sector representative HollandBIO, successfully created a code of practice to make tastings possible in controlled environments.
The expert committee, comprising a toxicologist, a microbiologist, a physician, and an ethical expert, per the code of practice, will approve tastings only in a controlled environment specially designed for food preparation. The general public is not allowed to participate.
Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat, said: “Mosa Meat will be applying soon to host the first legal tastings of our cultivated beef. The Netherlands continues to be a global leader in sustainable food innovation, even as others in Europe appear to be taking a step backwards at the height of our climate and biodiversity crises.”
A pivotal moment for the industry
Just yesterday, a coalition of EU agriculture ministers against cultivated meat urged the revision of the regulatory approval framework for cultivated meat at the Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting.
Allowing tastings in Europe is an exciting moment for the industry to continue forward with this mission to reduce the impact of the food industry on the planet, which is responsible for 26% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
Tastings will allow consumers to compare this novel food to traditional meat. At the same time, they may inspire other countries to follow suit, opening the door for further advancements in the cultivated meat industry.
Kianti Figler, CEO of Upstream Foods, shares: “This is a pivotal moment for the Dutch cultivated meat and seafood ecosystem. We are dedicated to revolutionizing seafood alternatives through fish fat cultivation, and this initiative empowers us to showcase our innovative approach.”
