At a time when food safety and security are more crucial than ever, Singapore-based food tech companies are reinventing the menu by offering sustainable solutions to how food is being produced and novel ways to enjoy a bite. In the first of this four-part series, Eat Just's Josh Tetrick tells us why the nation's regulatory approval of the world's first cultured chicken bites is a landmark event
The alternative protein industry, which includes cell-based and plant-based companies, has been mushrooming over the last few years spurring a movement to change the way we eat. The products may be different but their collective goal is to repair our broken food systems and achieve a more sustainable future by reducing global meat consumption and replacing them with other protein-rich solutions.
Food security is a precarious issue especially in Singapore where arable land is scarce and produce is generally imported. However, the government is strategically focusing on producing 30 per cent of the population’s nutritional needs by 2030 through an innovative route. With scores of industry experts, like-minded investors, and an open-minded dining scene, Singapore offers a promising ecosystem for the following food tech companies to thrive and launch their global crusade to change how food is made, distributed and consumed right here on our shores.
(Related: Tindle in Singapore: 6 Restaurants Where You Can Try This Plant-Based Chicken Alternative)
In December 2020, Singapore became the first country in the world to grant approval of the sale of cultured chicken—meat produced by in vitro cell culture of animal cells. The “chicken bites”, produced by San Francisco-based food company Eat Just, are now on the menu in the city state, with other countries worldwide expected to follow suit soon.
According to Josh Tetrick, the co-founder and CEO of Eat Just, the approval process took two years in total. Within weeks of getting regulatory approval, its cultured chicken, made from animal cells without having to slaughter chicken, saw its first commercial client in Singapore private members’ club, 1880.
Eat Just is a key player in the global billion-dollar alternative protein industry. Entrepreneurs in the space say they are driven by the determination to reverse the negative impacts of the traditional meat industry on animals, farmers and the planet. When Tetrick started the company (then known as Beyond Eggs) with his co-founder, Josh Balk, in 2011, they focused on the most consumed animal protein in the world: chicken eggs.