「培養鶏肉」シンガポールで販売へ　世界初

【シンガポールＡＦＰ＝時事】シンガポールはこのたび、鶏の細胞から培養した肉の販売を世界で初めて承認した。同国の飲食店では間もなく、いかなる動物も殺すことなく作られたこの培養肉が提供されるようになる。（写真は資料写真）
　米スタートアップ企業のイート・ジャストは２日、自社の培養肉をチキンナゲットの材料として販売することがシンガポールで認められたと発表。「世界の食品産業に新境地を切り開いた」と自信を示した。
　同社の共同創業者のジョシュ・テトリック最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）は、「培養肉に関する規制当局の承認を得たのはわが社が初めてだが、今後シンガポールでも世界各国でも、多くの承認が出されるものと確信している」と述べた。
　地球温暖化への影響が大きい温室効果ガスのメタンを牛が排出することや、気候変動を食い止める天然の障壁が、畜産業のために行う森林伐採によって破壊されていることから、従来の肉の消費は環境への脅威となっている。
　消費者からの圧力が強まるにつれ、サステナブル（持続可能）な代替肉の需要も高まっているが、代替肉市場に出回っている他の商品はすべて植物由来だ。
　培養肉に関しては、価格が非常に高くなるのではないかとの懸念があり、イート・ジャストも培養肉ナゲットの値段は公表していない。ただ同社は、数年以内に従来の鶏肉よりも安く販売できるよう目指していくとしている。
　シンガポール食品庁も、イート・ジャストの培養肉消費の安全性を確認した上で、チキンナゲットとしての販売を承認したと認めた。
　同庁は、過去に人類が消費したことのない「新食品」について、これらの食品が販売前に安全基準を確実に満たすよう、新たな枠組みを整備したと説明している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2020/12/03-11:49）

Lab-grown chicken will soon be available in restaurants in Singapore, after the city-state became the first to green-light meat created without slaughtering any animals.
US start-up Eat Just said Wednesday that its meat had been approved for sale in the city-state as an ingredient in chicken nuggets.
The news marks a breakthrough for the global food industry, said the company, as firms increasingly try to find less environmentally harmful ways of producing meat.
I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe, said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Eat Just.
Consumption of regular meat is an environmental threat as cattle produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while logging forests to make way for animals destroys natural barriers against climate change.
Demand for sustainable alternatives to meat is rising due to growing consumer pressure, but other products in the market are plant-based.
There were concerns lab-grown varieties would be too expensive, but a spokesman for Eat Just said the company had made considerable progress in lowering the cost.
Right from the start, we will be at price parity for premium chicken at a high-end restaurant, he told AFP.
He did not reveal the price of the nuggets but said they would be launched soon at a Singapore restaurant, before other products including lab-grown chicken breasts are rolled out.
Eat Just hopes to bring down the cost to below that of conventional chicken in the coming years, the spokesman added.
- Soaring meat consumption -
The company conducted over 20 production runs in 1,200 litre bioreactors to make the chicken alternative, and checks on safety and quality showed its cultured product -- the term for meat grown in labs from animal cells -- met food standards.
Meat consumption is projected to increase over 70 percent by 2050, and lab-grown alternatives have a role to play in ensuring a safe, secure food supply, Eat Just said.
Working in partnership with the broader agriculture sector and forward-thinking policymakers, companies like ours can help meet the increased demand for animal protein as our population climbs to 9.7 billion by 2050, said company CEO Tetrick.
The Singapore Food Agency, the city-state's regulator, confirmed it had approved the sale of Eat Just's lab-grown chicken in nuggets after concluding it was safe for consumption.
The agency said it had put in place a framework for novel foods which do not have a history of being consumed by humans to ensure safety standards are met before they go on sale.
The high-tech city-state has become a hub for the development of sustainable foods in recent years, with local start-ups concocting dishes suited to Asian palates.
These range from lab-grown seafood to dumplings made with tropical fruit instead of pork.