Meat Redefined: Chinese Firm Begins Trials for Lab-Created Meat Production
Lab-Grown Meat Tasting Held in China as CellX Advances in Industry
A Chinese meat company recently organized a tasting event featuring lab-grown meat derived from animal cells, as reported by Reuters.
The event, held in a Shanghai industrial park, was attended by government officials, investors, and media representatives. CellX, established in 2020, showcased lab-grown meat kebabs and tofu dishes that incorporated minced lab-grown meat, each dish costing under 100 yuan to produce.
CellX is a leading contender in China’s pursuit of laboratory-grown meat, with other firms also focusing on research and development in this sector. These companies are embracing lab-grown meat production as a response to growing consumer concerns about the environmental impact of traditional livestock farming.
CEO Ziliang Yang revealed that the company’s current costs stand at approximately $100 per pound, but they anticipate reducing this cost significantly, possibly by a factor of 10, before their commercial launch in the next two to three years.
CellX’s pilot facility in Shanghai has a current annual capacity of producing “a couple of tonnes” of lab-grown meat. However, a larger-scale commercial production facility is in the works, which is projected to yield hundreds of tonnes annually.
Yang disclosed that the company plans to submit applications for regulatory approvals in Singapore and the US, both leaders in permitting retail sales of lab-grown meat products, later this year. Their ambition is to introduce their lab-grown meat products in restaurants by 2025, though the timeline for regulatory approval for human consumption remains uncertain.
Yang highlighted the advantage of producing in China due to lower infrastructure costs, indicating that their strategic approach will involve leveraging this supply chain and expanding internationally in the future.
