Samsung Welstory, Daesang, CJ CheilJedang Increase Investment in Cultured Meat
Foodnamu Conducting R&D Through Subsidiary FN Fresh
Global Business Giants Bill Gates, Jack Welch, Richard Branson Invest
Animal Protection Act Revision by 2024 Expected to Boost Production and Export of Cell-Cultured Foods
F&Fresh, a subsidiary of Foodnamu that researches and develops cultured meat and alternative meat, is gaining attention. This is interpreted as being influenced by the news that the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has resolved the 'killer regulations' that were obstacles to the cultured meat industry.
Foodnamu, which operates the convenient health food platform ‘Rankingdakcom,’ is researching and developing cultured meat and alternative meat through its wholly owned subsidiary ‘F&Fresh.’ In November 2021, F&Fresh established its corporate-affiliated research institute. Currently, it is conducting research on muscle cell culture, embryonic stem cell culture, culture medium, 3D culture, scaffolds, and large-scale cell culture.
F&Fresh is actively utilizing open innovation with domestic and international companies. Starting with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in February last year for cooperation in the cell-cultured meat business with the cultured meat startup SimpleBio, it proceeded with business agreements in July and November with bio-material company MyCell, bio-venture company WingStarBio, and MicroAlgaeSciences.
The obstacles to the cultured meat industry are also expected to disappear. The Presidential Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Rural Special Affairs launched the Future New Industry Special Committee in April. It declared its intention to discover new industry materials such as cultured meat and alternative meat. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs also designated cell-cultured foods such as cultured meat as future new growth industries in December last year and reorganized the related department (Food Tech Policy Division).
However, regulations have hindered the development of the cultured meat industry. To produce cell-cultured meat, it is essential to collect animal cells. Under the current 'Animal Protection Act,' it is impossible to collect cells from living animals. Cells must be collected from dead animal tissues, but since the cell survival time is short, cultured meat companies have had difficulty securing high-quality cells stably.
However, with the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s resolution of difficulties, the Animal Protection Act is expected to be amended by 2024, and guidelines will be prepared to revitalize related industries such as the production and export of cell-cultured foods. Cultured meat companies are now able to respond proactively to the cultured meat market, which is expected to reach $450 billion (about 580 trillion KRW) by 2040.
As the trend toward ‘veganism’ continues in the food sector, alternative meat is attracting attention. Among alternative meats that are not plant-based, there are products called ‘cell-cultured meat’ or ‘cultured meat.’ This is meat made by taking a small amount of animal cells and culturing them.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft; Jack Welch, former chairman of General Electric; and Richard Branson, chairman of Virgin Group, have been investing in cell-cultured meat companies for several years. In particular, Bill Gates has invested as much as 18.4 trillion KRW in just one cultured meat startup, Upside Foods (Memphis Meats).
That is not all. The Singapore government became the first in the world in 2020 to allow the production and sale of cultured chicken meat. The United States recently also approved production and sales for two cultured chicken meat companies.
In South Korea, Samsung Welstory plans to nurture two related startups through the 'Samsung Welstory TechUP+' program in collaboration with startup accelerator FuturePlay. The targets are developing products aiming for the commercialization of cultured meat by 2025, and CJ CheilJedang is actively investing in overseas cultured meat companies.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
