Cultivated meat company, Meatable, reveals its first product

Dutch biotech company, Meatable, specializes in the development of cultivated lab-grown meat products and has revealed images of its first synthetic sausage. 

While it usually takes around 3 years to develop beef or pork, Meatable claims that it can achieve the same results in a couple of weeks without any of the drawbacks. That is, no slaughter or antibiotics, while having a smaller environmental footprint by reducing the amount of water and trees used as compared to conventional farming techniques.   

As reported by TechCrunch, Meatable was founded in 2018 and raised $10 million in 2019 with another $47 million raised last year. Where numerous cultivated meat companies have entered the fray and attracted venture capital money, Meatable differs by using opti-oxTM technology instead of fetal bovine serum (FBS). Only one cell sample, harvested from cattle fetuses, is needed to replicate the natural growth of muscle and fat. 

The unveiling of its first lab-grown sausage signals a transition from research into something akin to a final product. The founders are permitted to taste them under strict circumstances (following a vote in the Dutch House of Representatives in March), but regulatory restrictions continue to pose a high barrier for getting those goods to market. Notably, Singapore is the only jurisdiction where it is legal to sell lab-grown meat. The fact that Meatable is still looking at another three years to launch its product commercially illustrates the obstacles this technology faces.