Israeli food tech startup Aleph Farms from Rehovot received approval from the Health Ministry to market its fully lab-grown beef.
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The food regulators' decision means that the alternative meat, cultivated from biopsied stem cells in bioreactors, will soon be available at supermarkets and restaurants – domestically and internationally.
On its X (formerly Twitter) account, the company said, "Aleph Cuts, the world's first cultivated beef steaks, receive regulatory approval from Israel's Ministry of Health, marking the first-ever such nod for cultivated beef anywhere and the first for cultivated meat of any kind in the Middle East."
The meat is considered "parve" in the kosher category: for religious purposes, it is neither dairy nor meat, stated the Chief Rabbinate of Israel after visiting Aleph Farms factory in Rehovot. Back in January 2023, Chief Rabbi David Lau gave his kosher stamp of approval to the cultivated thin-cut steaks.
"During these difficult times in Israel, the Aleph Farms team is coming together with strength and determination to deliver the goods, no matter what," said Yedidia Tovia, CEO and co-founder of the company. "The first meat Aleph Farms will serve to Israelis will be a steak made from the organ of an Angus cow named Lucy."
Lucy's cells are not to undergo any genetic modification process. Aside from the cells derived from Lucy's fertilized egg, the manufacturing process and the final product do not include any animal-derived components.
The company noted that no antibiotics were used in the process.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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