Cultivated meat clarity: Sharia scholars rule cell-based can meet halal standard

11 Sep 2023 --- Cultivated meat can be halal if production meets specific criteria, says Good Meat, who consulted with “leading Islamic scholars” about the theological question. This opens the market to over two billion halal consumers, or about 25% of the world’s population.

Good Meat’s news comes at the heels of the Orthodox Union, the world’s largest kosher certification agency, announcing that the chicken cell line of Super Meat meets the highest level of kosher supervision: Mehadrin standards.

The panel of Sharia scholars examined the process of making the chicken, from the selection and sourcing of the cells, to the ingredients and methods used to grow and harvest them, to the manufacturing of the final products.

“If cultivated meat is to help address our future food system needs, it has to be an option for the billions of people around the world who eat halal. This landmark ruling provides much-needed clarity on how to ensure that is achieved. All companies should work to build a process to meet these guidelines,” says Josh Tetrick, Good Meat co-founder and CEO.

While this is the first time that cell-based has been deemed halal, countries in the Middle East have invested millions of US$ into the novel food technology. 

Good Meat admits that its chicken cell line and production process doesn’t yet meet halal standards.In July, Israel-based Steakholder Foods announced a deal with the Gulf Cooperation Council to advance food security efforts by commercializing its 3D fish bioprinting technology.

Cultured protein companies have been working for years to determine how to make their products suitable for religious consumers. 

When is cell-based halal?
A trio of “well-respected scholars in Saudi Arabia,” according to Good Meat, have concluded that cultivated meat can be halal if it meets some conditions.

First, the cell line has to be from an animal that is permissible to eat, such as a chicken or a cow. 

Furthermore, the nutrients fed to the cells must be permissible to eat and not include substances that are “forbidden,” such as “spilled blood, alcohol or materials extracted from animals that have not been slaughtered properly or pigs.”

Scholars also established that cell-based meat cannot harm human health and this has to be confirmed by referring to specialists, such as the country’s food regulatory bodies.

As of now, cell-based meat continues to be illegal in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world in population terms.Cell-based food can potentially be a sustainable solution for the harsh Middle East agricultural environment.

In related news, Food Ingredients First recently explored how the insect proteins sector is dealing with complications around meeting halal and kosher certifications.

Targeting a new standard
Good Meat admits that its chicken cell line and production process, approved by regulators in the US and Singapore – in March 2023 and December 2020 respectively – do “not yet meet the criteria.” 

However, with the new clarifying of what’s halal, the company will start to work on a process to meet the guidelines. 

Last year, Good Meat polled 2,000 consumers in six Middle East countries, finding that a “vast majority of respondents” would purchase cultivated meat with the key conditions that it was halal, sold at comparable cost and tasted similar to traditional meat. 

The nature of cultivated food – food produced directly from cells without the need for animal slaughter – has the potential to revolutionize the global food system and provide a sustainable solution for regions with harsh environments and limited natural resources like the Middle East. 

Arik Kaufman, CEO of Steakholder Foods, told us that  “with the ability to scale up or down based on demand, its technology – 3D bioprinting cultured fish – ensures a consistent supply of food, irrespective of seasonal fluctuations or adverse conditions that may impact traditional food production.”

By Marc Cervera