Project description
Advanced techniques for cell-based meat
The increase of the world population in the coming years will increase meat demand considerably, raising environmental and ethical questions. Cell meat technology proposes high-quality meat production from cells instead of an entire animal. However, the cost of such production remains high while consumers are not prepared to make such a shift. The French company Suprême is a pioneer in cell-based meat production with advanced techniques. Now, it proposes a cost-effective and scalable method that considerably reduces production costs. The first step of such an innovative technique is the production of foie gras without animal mistreatment. The EU-funded SUSTAINABLEMEAT project intends to evaluate taste and cost reduction, aiming at the production of ethical and environmentally friendly meat.
Objective
In the next 30 years, global meat demand will increase by 73%. One of the most promising technologies to help face this challenge is cell-based meat. By growing meat from cells instead of from a whole animal, it becomes possible to create high-quality cuts of meat using fewer resources and with less environmental impact.
However, cell-based meat has not yet revolutionized the market, for several reasons. Current techniques mean that it is difficult to successfully scale-up and industrialize production, and make it much more costly to produce than “conventional” meat – meaning that it is not price competitive. Finally, consumers need to be ready to accept this type of meat.
Suprême is the first cell-based meat company in France and one of the few pioneers in Europe. Our mission is to accelerate the world’s transition toward humane, sustainable & healthy meat. Our technical know-how means that we are able to produce cell-based meat in a more cost-effective and scalable way than our competitors.
Our aim is to bring Europe’s first ever successful cell-based meat product to the market, by focusing on a “premium” delicacy - foie gras - and using innovative techniques to reduce production costs. Suprême offers an innovative solution, producing real foie gras without animal mistreatment. By offering an “ethical” alternative, we benefit from both strong consumer motivation and, as foie gras is one of the most expensive varieties of meat, we will be price-competitive right at launch. Producing foie gras is just a first step towards providing a range of cell-based meat alternatives and making European meat consumption habits sustainable.
The aim of our Phase 1 project is to de-risk core aspects of our technology (taste & cost-reduction) and carry out a detailed IP landscape study on an aspect of our technology critical for cost reduction. Suprême addresses a €2B market and has the potential to become a European champion for ethical & environmentally friendly meat.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1Coordinator
91000 Evry-Courcouronnes
France
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.