Mosa Meat, a pioneer in cultivated beef, prioritizes fat sourcing in Switzerland.

      Swiss food enthusiasts may soon have the opportunity to enjoy a novel delicacy: cultivated burgers. This lab-grown innovation comes from the Dutch scale-up Mosa Meat, established in 2013, which cultivates beef using cells taken from cows. These cells are transformed into burgers that are indistinguishable from the minced meat found in grocery stores, while the fortunate cows return to their farms. Mosa refers to this creation as "the world’s kindest burger."

      Cultivated meat has the potential to significantly reduce our carbon footprints, but gaining support from regulators globally is essential. Swiss authorities are now the focus of Mosa's efforts. The company announced today that it has applied for "novel food authorization" in Switzerland, specifically for one ingredient: cultivated fat.

      This fat-first approach is a local tactic. Similar to the EU, Switzerland mandates that cultivated ingredients be submitted for regulatory approval on an individual basis. Starting with fat makes sense, as it is crucial in imparting the taste, aroma, and mouthfeel of beef, thereby enhancing the culinary experience. Once approved, the fat can be blended with plant-based ingredients to create beef-like products.

      Maarten Bosch, Mosa’s CEO, shared with TNW that the company aims to offer burgers made from this blend. The scale-up is also engaged in discussions with plant-based food companies about incorporating cultivated fat into their offerings. “By starting with cultivated fat, we are paving the way to bring our first burgers to market while remaining aligned with our long-term vision,” Bosch explained.

      The cultivated meat market is rapidly evolving. The Swiss application is the latest step in Mosa’s mission to commercialize cultivated meat. In 2013, the company's chief scientific officer, Mark Post, created the first cultivated burger, which cost an astounding €250,000 to produce, making it the most expensive burger in the world, a bill footed by Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

      Three years later, Mosa Meat was founded and has since developed a cultivation technique that eliminates the controversial fetal bovine serum, received the industry’s first B Corp certification, and secured over €130 million in funding from investors including Leonardo DiCaprio. Mosa is now concentrating on market entry strategies.

      Last year, the company conducted the first public tasting of cultivated beef in the EU. In January, Mosa submitted the EU’s second-ever request to sell cultivated meat, following the first application for a lab-grown foie gras produced in France. However, there have yet to be any approvals for cultivated meat intended for human consumption across Europe. So far, only Singapore, the US, and Israel have granted approval.

      Singapore was the first to do so in 2020, evaluating complete cultivated meat products for approval, unlike Switzerland and the EU. In contrast, Mosa’s latest application focuses solely on the fat, with the company anticipating that the approval process will take approximately 18 months.