Singapore Grants World's First Approval for Sale of Artificial Chicken Meat

US Food Startup 'It Just' Receives Sales Approval in Singapore

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Singapore has become the first country in the world to approve the sale of lab-grown chicken.

According to local media including The Straits Times on the 2nd, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) confirmed the safety of chicken produced by US startup Eat Just through cell cultivation in a laboratory rather than slaughtering, and made this decision.

Eat Just stated, "This is the world's first approval for the sale of cultured chicken."

The chicken approved for sale this time was produced by culturing muscle cells in a laboratory instead of using traditional slaughter methods.

Eat Just announced plans to produce the approved nugget-shaped cultured chicken in Singapore. However, they did not specify the exact timing of the sales.

Josh Tetrick, CEO of Eat Just, told The Straits Times, "This approval opens the way for consumers to taste our lab-grown chicken at restaurants."

He added, "The price of cultured chicken will be set similar to premium chicken sold in restaurants, and as production increases, the price will decrease."

He also mentioned that the price of cultured chicken has already dropped to one-third compared to a year ago.

Regarding this, CEO Tetrick said, "We need to lower the price below that of conventional (slaughtered) chicken," and "We expect this to be possible within a few years."