Mission Barns to launch cultivated pork fat products following FDA clearance
Mission Barns is set to introduce meatballs and bacon made with cell-cultivated pork fat following regulatory clearance. The products will first appear in restaurants and later in supermarkets across the United States.
USA – Mission Barns is preparing to release its first food items made with cultivated pork fat, following recent safety clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The company’s debut products, which include Italian-style meatballs and applewood smoked bacon, combine cell-grown pork fat with plant-based proteins.
To create the cultivated fat, a small sample is taken from a pig and then grown in laboratory conditions using a nutrient-rich solution derived from plants.
Mission Barns says this method allows one animal sample to yield fat equivalent to what would be obtained from millions of traditionally raised pigs.
This approach is intended to support future food needs as global population numbers are projected to increase by 1.7 billion over the next quarter-century.
Founder and CEO Eitan Fischer says the company chose to focus on cultivated fat rather than muscle because it allows for faster and less expensive production while also enhancing the taste and texture of the final products.
The first place consumers will be able to try the new items is Fiorella, a San Francisco-based Italian restaurant group that has agreed to feature the cultivated meatballs and bacon on its menu.
Mission Barns also plans to work with a national supermarket chain, which will become the first grocery retailer in the US to carry cultivated meat products.
Brandon Gillis, co-founder of Fiorella, says he was interested in the partnership after learning more about the technology and tasting the company’s products, especially given concerns about weaknesses in the traditional food supply system.
With FDA clearance now secured, Mission Barns becomes the first company in the world to receive regulatory approval specifically for cultivated pork fat, following earlier authorizations for lab-grown chicken.
The FDA concluded that the products developed by the company are just as safe to eat as conventionally produced meat items.
Functional muscle tissue grown in lab in Germany
In a separate development, German startup MyriaMeat has announced the creation of pig muscle tissue that moves and contracts on its own, a first for lab-grown meat.
The company says it achieved this breakthrough using pluripotent stem cells, aiming to replicate pork muscle as closely as possible rather than offering an alternative.
Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from the University of Göttingen, MyriaMeat believes this technology could attract consumers who are hesitant to adopt plant-based products but want alternatives to conventional pork.
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