A commercial facility that produces chicken products through cell culture instead of slaughter has already began operations in Singapore, The Straits Times has learnt.

The facility in Ayer Rajah Crescent by Esco Aster, a home-grown contract development and manufacturing organisation, was given approval and started production of cell- cultured chicken in July - a world first. It could pave the way for more such protein alternatives to enter the Singapore market and boost food security for the Republic.

In December 2020, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) was the first regulatory authority in the world to approve the sale of a cultured meat product - bite-sized chicken from Eat Just, a California start-up - after it was deemed safe for consumption. Eat Just's Good Meat cultivated chicken is available here via the foodpanda delivery platform from Madame Fan, the Cantonese restaurant at JW Marriott Singapore South Beach.

On July 28, Esco Aster was given SFA approval to produce cultured chicken for commercial use. A spokesman for SFA added: "This is the same cultured chicken which was previously approved by SFA in 2020." ST understands that prior to this approval, Eat Just's cultured chicken bites could not be manufactured in Singapore.

Cultured meat refers to meat products that are made from growing animal cells in a bioreactor - similar to the vats used in brewing beer - instead of slaughtering actual chickens. This is considered to be a more sustainable meat production method, as large volumes can be produced involving less land and labour.

The Eat Just cultured chicken bites are the only cultured meat product currently approved for sale in Singapore. Alternative proteins are gaining traction globally amid growing consciousness about the massive carbon footprint of rearing livestock for food, which produces about 15 per cent of all global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation. But as this is an emerging field, with Singapore the only country which has approved the sale of such products here, many cultured meat products are made in smaller facilities and laboratories at a smaller scale.

A commercial plant in Singapore, however, could enable production of such alternative proteins to be scaled up more rapidly once they are approved for sale here, and bring costs down. Said Mr Lin: "The licence for manufacturing will allow alternative protein companies to produce small batches of approved cell-cultured food products for commercial market launch in Singapore."

Ms Mirte Gosker, acting managing director of non-profit The Good Food Institute Asia Pacific - which champions alternatives to traditional meat products - said: "This move is the clearest sign yet that the Lion City is all in on scaling up alternative proteins and driving Asia's runaway lead in food technology."Other nations would be wise to follow Singapore's example by investing in this smarter way of making meat before they get left behind."

Source: "World's first commercial cultured meat production facility operational in Singapore", The Straits Times, 15 September 2021.

 

(a)  Imagine you are a competitor to Eat Just called FoodX and planning to conduct a survey to understand Singaporeans' preference for plant-based foods (i.e. alternative proteins). Evaluate five (5) possible research objectives relevant to this case scenario, including why you chose them.

 

(b)  Before conducting the survey, you recommended to your senior management to conduct a literature review first. Discuss your recommendations using three (3) reasons with examples relevant to this case scenario why a literature review is necessary.

 

(c)  The FoodX CEO asked you to conduct a qualitative study to understand why consumers might eventually choose to eat plant-based foods. Evaluate how you could use triangulation in three (3) different perspectives or approaches to accomplish this study.