Singapore Approves Sale of Lab-Grown Meat

新加坡批准出售实验室的培植肉

Singapore’s government has approved the sale of a laboratory-grown chicken meat. The American company that invented the product, Eat Just, says it is the first time lab-grown meat has received such approval anywhere in the world.

新加坡政府已批准出售实验室培育的鸡肉。发明该产品的美国公司Eat Just（以下译为“锦食”）表示，这是全球首个获批的实验室培植肉。

Lab-grown meat – also called clean or cultured meat – is created from animal cells in a laboratory. The product is made without harming animals. The cells grow directly into the meat, outside of any animal.

实验室培植肉也被称为净肉或培植肉，是在实验室中用动物细胞制作出来的。该产品不会对动物造成伤害。这些细胞能在无需依附动物身体的情况下直接长成肉。

The Eat Just product is to be sold as small pieces, called nuggets. The product is set to launch at a Singapore restaurant “in the very near term,” the company’s CEO Josh Tetrick told Reuters news agency.

锦食公司这一产品会以小块出售，被称为“小金块”。该公司首席执行官约什•泰特里克告诉路透社记者，该产品将于“近期”在新加坡一家餐厅推出。

Singapore is an island city-state of 5.7 million people.

新加坡是一个拥有570万人口的岛国。

Demand for alternatives to animal meat is rising across the world because of public concerns about health, animal welfare and the environment. Plant-based products - popularized by companies like Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn - are selling in a growing number of stores and restaurants.

由于公众对健康、动物保护主义和环境的担忧，全球对动物肉类替代品的需求正在上升。由Beyond Meat、Impossible Foods和Quorn等公司推广的素食产品在越来越多的商店和餐馆里销售。

But the development of lab-grown meat has been much slower than that of plant-based versions. The main reason for the delay is money. Lab-grown meat costs a lot more to produce.

但实验室培植肉的发展比素食产品要慢得多。而这一速度缓慢的主要原因是资金问题。实验室培植肉的生产成本要高得多。

Tetrick said the San Francisco-based company is also seeking approvals from U.S. government agencies. But he added that Singapore was a “good bit” ahead of the United States.

泰特里克表示，这家总部位于旧金山的公司也在寻求美国政府机构的批准。但他补充说，新加坡比美国要领先一步。

The Singapore Food Agency said it examined data from processing, manufacturing control and safety testing before approving Eat Just sales. Tetrick said it is likely that the U.S. and countries in Europe and elsewhere will examine Singapore’s approval system and will attempt to create a similar process.

新加坡食品署表示，在批准锦食公司销售该商品之前他们检查了该公司加工、生产控制和安全检测的数据。泰特里克表示，美国和欧洲及其他国家很可能会检验新加坡的审批制度，并将尝试建立一个类似的程序。

Eat Just said it will manufacture the product in Singapore. The company also plans to start making a plant-based egg substitute there that it is already selling in the United States.

锦食公司还表示它将在新加坡生产这种产品。该公司还计划在那里开始生产一种素食鸡蛋替代品，而这种产品已经在美国销售。

Eat Just was founded in 2011 and has raised more than $300 million, Tetrick said. The company is valued at around $1.2 billion.

泰特里克还说，锦食公司成立于2011年，已筹集3亿多美元的资金。该公司市值约12亿美元。

Worldwide, more than 24 companies are testing lab-grown fish, cow and chicken meat. They are hoping to break into a new part of the alternative meat market. Financial experts at Barclays Bank have estimated the market could be worth up to $140 billion by 2029.

全球范围内有超过24家公司正在测试实验室培育的鱼肉、牛肉和鸡肉。他们希望打入另类肉食市场的新领域。据巴克莱银行的金融专家估计，到2029年该市场的价值可能高达1400亿美元。

Competitors in the market have also been able to raise large amounts of money and win support from well-known investors.

该市场的竞争者们也已筹集了大量资金并获得了知名投资者的支持。

U.S.-based Memphis Meats raised money this year in a deal led by Japan’s SoftBank Group and Singapore-based Temasek. Among the Memphis Meats’ investors are Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Virgin Group chief Richard Branson.

总部位于美国的孟菲斯肉类食品公司今年通过日本软银集团和新加坡淡马锡牵头的一项交易进行了资金筹集。孟菲斯肉类食品公司的投资者包括微软联合创始人比尔·盖茨和维珍集团首席执行官理查德·布兰森。

In Singapore, Shiok Meats aims to become the first company to sell lab-grown shrimp. The company is backed by Henry Soesanto of the Philippines’ Monde Nissin Corporation, which also owns Quorn.

新加坡公司Shiok Meats的目标是成为第一家销售实验室培植虾肉的公司。该公司得到了菲律宾蒙迪公司的亨利·索桑托的支持，后者还是Quorn的拥有者。

I’m Bryan Lynn.