European Commission Maintains Subsidy for Dutch Cultured Meat

The European Commission stands by the EU subsidy of two million euros granted to Dutch companies for the development of cultured meat.

The Italian Lega (ECR) had asked why the Commission approved the applications from Nutreco and Mosa Meat, and based on which criteria.

The subsidy was awarded earlier this year for research aimed at reducing the costs of cell culturing, the most expensive step in the cultured beef process. The project ‘Feed for Meat’ received funding to tackle one of the main challenges in developing cultured meat: affordability.

Feed for Meat was the first company in the world to produce a laboratory-grown burger in 2013. Cultured meat, also called synthetic, artificial, or in vitro meat, is made from animal cells that ‘grow’ in a bioreactor in a laboratory into a piece of meat.

In response to criticism from Italian MEP Elena Lizzi, Brussels points out that the applications for funding from cohesion funds— as usual— were selected and substantiated by regional and national authorities. These authorities are also responsible for monitoring the project.

“Government support is a major contribution to bringing cultured beef to the European market,” said Peter Verstrate, co-founder of Mosa Meat, after the subsidy was granted. Several startups across Europe have started investing in laboratory meat technology. Mosa Meat plans to launch cultured hamburgers in Europe in the first half of 2022.

In Europe, the approval of new food products falls under the jurisdiction of EFSA. Therefore, cultured meat should be approved before it enters the market. However, it remains unclear what nutritional or toxicological evidence the EFSA requires for approval of cultured meat.