Dutch chain Mosa Meat, maker of the “world’s best hamburger”, has filed its first application to sell farmed meat in the EU.
Cultured or “lab-grown” meat is made by harvesting animal cells and growing them in a high-tech bioreactor filled with a nutrient-rich broth. The result? Real meat minus the slaughterhouses and climate warming emissions.
Singapore, the US and recently Israel are the only countries that have approved the sale of farmed meat for human consumption. The UK has also rubber-stamped a lab-grown treatment – but that’s just it for pets. While the Netherlands approved tastings in 2023, the sale of laboratory products remains illegal throughout the EU.
In a bid to open up its home market, Mosa Meat has submitted a “novel foods” application to European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). It is the second cultured meat company to ever do so. The first was French startup Gourmey last year for its lab growth foie gras.
Mosa will now wait patiently for the decision – very patiently. The approval process will take at least a year and a half.
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To add insult to injury, The EU regulatory process requires ingredients to be submitted individually. This forced Mosa to unwrap her burger. She decided to start with cultured fat – the liquid part. After that, the company will work on getting the green light for the muscle component.
Meanwhile, Mosa plans to mix cultured fat with plant-based ingredients to create meaty foods like hamburgers, meatballs, empanadas or bolognese. It’s a departure from the 100% lab-grown meat the company originally promised us. However, it is a faster route to market.
“Starting with cultured fat, we are paving the way to introduce consumers to our first hamburgers while staying true to our long-term vision,” said Maarten Bosch, CEO of Mosa Meat. “Our initial products will combine cultivated and plant-based ingredients, leveraging our in-house expertise in both areas.”
Mosa conducted the first trials of its burgers grown in the Netherlands last year, just months after competitor Meatable RECEIVED the first legally approved tasting of cultured meat in Europe.
In April, Mosa provided 40 million euros in financing, bringing her total to $147 million. Despite strong support, the company, and others like it, still face a long road ahead.
Unlike plant-based meats, pioneered by brands like Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, cultured meat has struggled to get off the ground after an initial wave of enthusiasm. It is still expensive to produce and regulatory hurdles exist cold investment.
“Cultured meat is still a relatively new field, so it’s natural to see early challenges, whether that’s regulatory complexity, high initial production costs or securing long-term investment,” Bosch told TNW.
“We believe the best way to overcome these obstacles is through a combination of scientific rigor, strategic partnerships and a focus on increasing production efficiently.”
Despite the challenges, startups like Mosa are forging ahead, convinced that cultured meat offers consumers an attractive alternative to plant-based meat or the usual steak, ribs or wings of animal origin.
“We don’t see our cultured burgers as simply competing with plant-based alternatives,” said Bosch. “We see cultured meat as an additional option for consumers who value the culinary experience of meat and want to make a meaningful difference without giving up what they love.”