Japanese government to progress with cultivated meat research

Author: Molly Pickering

Read Time:   |  24th June 2022


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Japan has announced plans to assess the safety of cultivated meats following the rising demand to find sustainably produced meat.

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The Japanese government has announced its plan to investigate the safety of cultivated meat.

Japan’s Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry will lead the research team focusing on the health risk of lab-grown meat. The team’s research will help the government formulate a framework for how the country can implement and regulate the growing industry.

A number of food tech organisations have already successfully produced traditional animal products using the cells of animals.

Japanese start-up Intergriculture announced in April that it had cultivated chicken and duck liver cells. While Mitsubishi announced it was partnering with Israeli Food Tech company Aleph Farms in 2021. The brands revealed that their focus was to bring cell-based meat to Japan.

Lab meat is growing around the globe. In 2020, Singapore became the first country to offer cultivated meat to the public.

US company Eat Just passed a safety review by the Singapore Food Agency and was able to sell its ‘chicken bites’ in the country.

Additionally, research is happening around the world to safely develop lab meat to sustainably meet the rising demand for animal products.

What is cultivated meat?

Cultivated meat is cell-based meat that is produced in a lab.

Cells from animals are taken and developed into traditionally animal products like steak and chicken.

What’s more, this process eliminates the need to raise animals for slaughter saving billions of animals.

Additionally, this will reduce land and water resource which is currently an urgent issue in animal agriculture.

While many question the realities of lab meat, it has the potential to end intensive animal farming and fight back against climate change.

From lab meat to 3D printed meat. Go behind the scenes at 3D-printed vegan steak producer Redefine Meat

Feature image credit: Aleph Farm
Source: Green Queen

Written by

Molly Pickering

Molly is the Digital Executive and former podcast host at Anthem's Vegan Food & Living, she also works across other titles including Women's Running and Classic Pop to create affiliate content for the website. Starting out as a Digital Marketing Apprentice at Vegan Food & Living in 2021, within 14 months Molly was shortlisted for ‘Best Editorial Assistant’ at the BSME Talent Awards 2022 and won the BCS Special Recognition award for Digital Marketing Apprentice of the Year in 2022

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