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Lab-grown meat could be considered halal, according to Islamic scholars in Saudi Arabia who provided advice to a US-based food start-up. This emerging industry is exploring ways to certify its products to meet religious dietary requirements. San Francisco-based Eat Just sought the opinion of three sharia law scholars to determine if cultivated meat can be classified as halal. The scholars concluded that it could be, as long as the stem cells used in its production are sourced from halal sources, among other conditions.
Although widespread commercialization of lab-grown meat is still in the future, some US and Singapore regulators have already approved a few start-ups in this field. With a significant number of consumers following halal or kosher diets, companies are interested in testing whether their lab-grown meat products can meet the requirements.
However, obtaining religious dietary certification is a complex process due to varying requirements across countries and differing opinions among religious authorities. The recent ruling by the scholars provides valuable insights and a potential roadmap for start-ups looking to gain certification and move towards commercialization, according to Mirte Gosker, the managing director of the Good Food Institute in Asia Pacific.
Lab-grown or “cultured” meat is produced from animal cells and cultivated in bioreactors, in contrast to plant-based meat made by companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which use ingredients like pea and soy protein. In the past year, investors have shown increasing interest in cultured meat over the plant-based alternative.
The Islamic scholars emphasized that for lab-grown meat to be considered halal, the cell line used must be sourced from an animal permitted by Islamic law, slaughtered in accordance with Islamic law, and fed approved nutrients. The final product should also be edible, healthy, and approved by relevant regulatory agencies.
Eat Just, the company behind the lab-grown meat, acknowledged that its current products are not halal but stated their commitment to ensuring future compliance. They plan to replace their current cell lines, derived from a chick embryo, with cell lines from halal meat.
Eat Just CEO and co-founder Josh Tetrick highlighted strong demand for lab-grown meat in Saudi Arabia and other parts of the Middle East and Southeast Asia, especially for improving food security. He emphasized the importance of making halal lab-grown meat accessible to the approximately 2 billion people who only consume halal meat.
In order to pursue certification, Eat Just’s cultivated meat division, Good Meat, is collaborating with Saudi Arabia’s Halal Products Advisory, a subsidiary of the country’s Public Investment Fund. Similarly, in Singapore, the Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura, the only authorized entity for halal certification, is working with local lab-grown meat maker Esco Aster to establish a regulatory framework.
The world’s largest kosher certification authority, Orthodox Union, recently certified the chicken cell line used by Israeli start-up SuperMeat. However, there are still disagreements and varying opinions within religious communities. Indonesia’s leading Muslim organization ruled that cells taken from living animals and cultivated in bioreactors are not halal. In Israel, Chief Rabbi David Lau deemed Aleph Farms’ lab-grown steak kosher, but Orthodox Union CEO Rabbi Menachem Genack disagreed, stating that the cell line was taken from a living animal.
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