Lab-grown pet food to hit UK shelves as regulators approve cultivated meat

Shoppers will be able to buy lab-grown pet food as the UK becomes the first country in Europe to approve the sale of cultivated meat.

The Environment Department (Defra) and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (Apha) gave regulatory clearance to start-up Meatly to sell its cultivated chicken pet food, the company said.

The firm called the decision a “significant milestone” for Europe’s cultivated meat industry.

Several studies into the climate impact of pet food have been published in recent years and researchers have also found potential demand for lab-grown meat products.

“Pet parents are crying out for a better way to feed their cats and dogs meat – we’re so excited to meet this demand.

“We can now continue our mission to give consumers an easy choice – ensuring we can feed our beloved pets the real meat they need and crave, in a way that is kinder to our planet and other animals.”

Meatly’s cultivated chicken is made by taking a small sample of cells from an egg, providing it with vitamins, minerals and amino acids and growing the cells in a container in a lab.

The firm, which has so far been backed by £3.5 million in investment, said the pet food is safe, nutritious and free from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), antibiotics, harmful pathogens, heavy metals and other impurities.

It plans to start selling the first samples of its commercially available pet food later this year, before focusing on reducing costs and scaling production to reach industrial volumes within the next three years.

Jim Mellon, founder of Agronomics who invested in Meatly, also called the regulatory approval a “landmark event” for the sector.

“Our pets consume huge amounts of meat every day and so this development can play a crucial part in reducing the emissions, resource consumption, and animal suffering caused by traditional meat production,” he said.

The previous government had been looking to take advantage of the regulatory freedoms of Brexit by fast-tracking the approval of cultivated meat for human consumption.

The Food Standards Agency and green campaigners urged ministers to back controversial plans for speeding up the approval for “regulated food products”.

But other experts and activists have warned that evidence around the sustainability of lab-grown meat is limited and alternative proteins could represent a new phase of food system industrialisation, which undermines resilience and jeopardises food producers’ livelihoods.