Czech-based startup Bene Meat Technologies became the first company to secure a permit to produce cultivated meat for pet food in the European Union. The company plans to test the products and scale production at its current facility in Prague.
"Today we have become the first company globally that has an official authorization for the production and sale of cultivated meat for cats and dogs." - Roman Kriz, Managing Director at Bene Meat Technologies.
The startup was founded in 2020 and is owned by medical device producer BTL Group. Like many other cultivated meat startups, the company uses animal-based cells that grow in bioreactors as they are supplied with nutrients. As cultured meat for human consumption remains one of the company’s goals, it has more than 80 researchers and developers working on scaling up the production of cultivated meat, making it affordable for future customers, and developing the company’s brand of pet food products.
Image Credit: Bene Meat Technologies