Following its recent partnership with Chinese plant-based producer HEROTEIN, cell cultivated fat producer Mission Barns has announced a similar partnership in the US. Berkeley-based Mission Barns will team up with fellow Californian brand Silva Sausage to create a plant protein sausage using cultivated fat.
“This ground-breaking partnership and production run is an important milestone toward cultivated meat technology becoming a reality”
The landmark deal marks the first-ever scaled-up manufacturing of a product containing cell-cultured meat, according to the brand. The Cultivated Chorizo Sausages are a hybrid of plant-based protein and Mission Barns’ proprietary cultivated fat; Mission Fat.
Due to issues of costs, scalability, technology, and regulations, plant-based protein with cultivated fat hybrid meat products are far more likely to hit the market than full-cut cell-cultured meats anytime soon. A recent survey revealed that up to 68% of plant-based meat producers would be likely or very likely to incorporate cultivated fat into their products.
The Best of Both Worlds
As regulatory approval for cell-cultured products has not yet been given, there is no date yet for the sausages to roll out into foodservice or retail. However, importantly the company has proven that Mission Fat can be used in a large manufacturing process. Mission Barns is enjoying rapid growth over 2021, recently raising $24 million in a Series A round to upscale its cell-cultured fat technology and build a pilot factory in the Bay Area.
“We see it as the best of both worlds, where sustainability and deliciousness intersect,” stated Eitan Fischer, CEO of Mission Barns. “And, this ground-breaking partnership and production run is an important milestone toward cultivated meat technology becoming a reality.”