Gourmey

BlueNalu yellowtail

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

Eight Companies Selected for UK’s First Cell-Cultivated Food Safety Programme

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has selected eight companies to participate in a two-year regulatory programme focused on evaluating the safety of cell-cultivated products (CCPs). The initiative is funded by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology’s Engineering Biology Sandbox Fund and will involve collaboration with academic institutions and industry representatives. The programme is designed to gather scientific evidence on the production and safety of CCPs, which will inform the regulatory framework overseen by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland (FSS). The data collected is expected to support more efficient assessments of CCP applications. As part of the initiative, the FSA has committed to conducting full safety evaluations of two CCPs during the two-year period. Science Minister Lord Vallance stated, “By supporting the safe …

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Gourmey

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Gastronomy & Food Service

Gourmey Enlists Michelin-Star Talent to Elevate Cultivated Foie Gras Ahead of Regulatory Approval

Gourmey, a Paris-based foodtech developing cultivated foie gras, has announced the creation of its inaugural culinary advisory board. The board includes three renowned Michelin-star chefs: Claude Le Tohic, Daniel Calvert, and Rasmus Munk. The chefs will lend their expertise to the company’s flagship product as Gourmey prepares for the anticipated regulatory approval of its product. The company submitted market approval applications in Europe, the US, Switzerland, and the UK, in the first half of 2024, and was the first to apply for regulatory approval to sell cultivated meat (foie gras) in the European Union this July. This advisory board is a first for the cultivated meat industry, and the three chefs bring a wealth of experience and creativity from across the globe: Le Tohic, based …

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cultivated foie gras

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Approvals

Gourmey Becomes First Company to Apply to Sell Cultivated Meat in the EU

Gourmey, a French startup producing cultivated foie gras, has become the first company to apply for regulatory approval to sell cultivated meat in the European Union. The startup has also submitted applications in Singapore, Switzerland, the UK, and the US. Before it goes on the market, the cultivated foie gras will need to be approved by the European Commission. Authorisation will be governed by the Novel Foods Regulation, said to be one of the most robust food safety frameworks in the world. The process is likely to take at least 18 months, and will include a thorough assessment of the safety and nutritional value of cultivated meat. The potential social, economic, and environmental impacts of the product will also be considered, with input from member …

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Politics & Law

French Parliamentarians Propose Law to Ban Cultivated Meat, Calling it “Junk Food”

The Republicans (Les Républicains) party of France has introduced a bill in the National Assembly to prohibit the production and marketing of cultivated meat in the country, reports European Biotechnology. “In the interests of human health, animal health, and the environment, it is forbidden to produce, process, and market synthetic meat anywhere in France,” reads the proposed law. The bill’s proponents argue that cultivated meat companies promise to replace low-quality imported meat with a highly processed alternative full of “questionable additives” produced in obscured conditions.  Pauline Grimmer, policy officer at GFI Europe, comments, “This bill is a needless attack on consumer choice and local startups and would cut France off from investment and job opportunities. It would also undermine efforts to tackle climate change just as the …

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cultivated foie gras

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Investments & Acquisitions

France’s Gourmey Raises €48M to Build Cultivated Foie Gras Facility

French startup Gourmey has secured €48 million in Series A funding to further develop its cultivated foie gras. The round was led by Earlybird Venture Capital, with participation from others including Keen Venture Partners, Omnes Capital, and Discovery. The company will use the funding to open a 46,000-square-foot R&D and production site in Paris, which will be the largest cultivated meat facility in Europe. Additionally, Gourmey plans to significantly expand its team. While the initial focus is on foie gras, Gourmey eventually plans to use its technology to produce other kinds of cultivated poultry meat. Ethical foie gras Many consumers, even those who are not vegetarian or vegan, avoid conventional foie gras due to its association with animal cruelty. In some countries, such as the …

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Fois Green

Foie Green. Image courtesy of Ficoba

Politics & Law

UK Government Reaches Out to Plant-Based Innovators to Replace Foie Gras Forever

Following the historic decision from MPs to ban trade in foie gras, the UK government has called on vegan restaurateurs to advise on plant-based alternatives to the cruel practice. As first reported by The Guardian, the government is aiming to prove that gap in the markets left by restrictions on controversial products like foie gras can be filled by plant-based innovation.  As the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs works out legislation to ban the sale and import of foie gras – produced by force-feeding fat to caged ducks and geese by pipes down their throats multiple times a day – alt meat innovators are already ahead of the curve with an array of so-called “faux gras” products.  ProVeg incubator alumni Aberyne produces …

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Gourmey

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Cultivated, Cell-Cultured & Biotechnology

French Cell-Cultured Startup Gourmey Raises $10M in Funding for Ethical Foie Gras

With claims to be the first French startup working in the cell-cultured meat sphere, Gourmey has developed a cruelty-free foie gras from duck cells. The startup recently closed a $10 million (€8.4 million) funding round as it positions itself in the emerging cell-cultured poultry market. “The ambition is that in many places cultivated foie gras not only will be the best option, but it will be the only option” From chicken to duck, poultry is the planet’s most consumed meat, so Gourmey has focused on this sector, starting with its ethical foie gras but with one eye on a future mass-marketable chicken fillet. Its recent funding round featured Big Idea Ventures and Beyond Investing, as well as public backing from Bpifrance and the European Commission. …

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