In the case of Steakholder Foods, stem cells are placed in machines so they can grow. The meat is printed after the cells separate into muscle cells and fat cells, according to the company’s website.
Why it matters: Singapore is the only country in the world that allows the commercial sale of lab meat. Steakholder Foods called the grant a “unique opportunity for market entry in the only country in the world where cultivated meat has regulatory approval.”
Israel has a strong cultivated meat sector. Last year, the Israeli company Plantish demonstrated its 3D printed salmon to the Jerusalem-based investment platform OurCrowd. Unlike Steakholder Foods, Plantish’s fish is plant-based, hence the name.
Lab-grown and plant-based meat could potentially benefit the environment and the treatment of animals.
The Israeli foodtech company Steakholder Foods announced Tuesday a new grant for 3D printing fish meat.
Steakholder Foods received the grant of up to $1 million from the Israel Innovation Authority and Enterprise Singapore. Per the grant, they will work with Singapore’s Umami Foods on eel and grouper fish meat that is produced via 3D printing. They expect the partnership’s first prototype to be ready by the end of the first quarter of 2023, according to a press release.
What it means: Lab-grown meat refers to meat that is produced via cells from animals — as opposed to slaughtering living animals. 3-D printing occurs when three-dimensional objects are physically printed using digital technology.
source: al-monitor