The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Department of the Environment of that nation authorized the Meatly brand pet food, which announced that its product will soon reach supermarkets.

Such a decision by the regulatory body is momentous for the European farmed meat industries, and highlights that regulatory approval has been achieved in less than two years of operation.

“This makes us the first company in Europe authorized to sell cultured meat, and the first in the world to obtain authorization to sell cultured food for pets,” said the co-founder of this British startup, Owen Ensor.

Information from Meatly, published on its corporate website, explains that the nutrients used to grow the cells are safe and the final chicken product is nutritious and free of bacteria and viruses.

Unlike meat of plant origin, made with soy, peas or legumes, cultured meat is obtained by taking cells from an animal – in this case extracted from a chicken egg – and germinated in a laboratory with nutrients.

Singapore was the first country to approve the commercialization of cultured meat in 2020, while the United States did so in 2023, and now the United Kingdom joins as the first European country to allow the consumption of this laboratory-grown product.

ef/oda/crc