Limburg cultured meat burger step closer to consumer

The cultured meat burger from Limburg-based Mosa Meat is another step closer to the supermarket shelf. Thanks to new investors, a capital injection of $55 million will enable the expansion of the pilot plant in Maastricht and the development of an industrial-scale production line. All this leads to the expectation that the Mosa burger will be on sale in stores from 2023.

Mosa Meat is co-founded by Mark Post, professor of vascular physiology at Maastricht University. Together with meat expert Peter Verstrate, he made world news seven years ago with their cultured hamburger. Google founder Sergey Brin, among others, put money into the development of the cultured meat, on which fifty scientists and engineers are currently working.

Alternative

The beef is made from just a few cow cells. The animal does not have to be slaughtered to obtain these cells. Through this method, the developers hope to market a hamburger that is an alternative to mass animal consumption and the burden on the environment and nature. The taste should be exactly the same as a hamburger made of beef.

Investors

In 2018, Mosa Meat received a first financial injection with partners including M Ventures, the Bell Food Group, Nutreco, and Lowercarbon Capital. Among the new investments, M Ventures and the Bell Food Group are returning. M Ventures invests in so-called transformational ideas globally from its Amsterdam headquarters. Switzerland's Bell Food Group is one of the leading meat processing and convenience specialists in Europe with annual sales of 4 billion Swiss francs.

New party and lead investor of this round is Luxembourg-based Blue Horizon Ventures. This food technology fund aims to support and promote positive global impact on the environment, human health and animal welfare. On behalf of Blue Horizon, Dr. Regina Hecker takes a seat on the board of directors of Mosa Meat. She was convinced of Mosa Meat's opportunities after a thorough examination of the technology and team. "The company is in a strong position to lead the way in scaling up cultured meat."

Production

Mosa Meat chief executive Maarten Bosch is very pleased with the collaboration with the partners. "With their support, we can take the next concrete steps to scale up production and make progress towards a cleaner and kinder way of making real beef."

Mosa Meat has been growing the meat in a lab until now, but soon it may go into small-scale production. To that end, the company is working with European regulators on the safety of the cultured meat. The European approval process will take at least another year and a half. Once the expected approval is there, the production will be greatly expanded and stores will be able to offer the burger from 2023.

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Source: De Limburger