Lab-grown chicken will soon be available in restaurants in Singapore, after its government became the first to allow the sale of meat created without slaughtering any animals.
On Wednesday, US start-up Eat Just said its meat was approved for sale in the city-state as an ingredient in chicken nuggets.
The company said it marked a "breakthrough for the global food industry" as companies try to find less environmentally harmful ways of producing meat.
"I'm sure that our regulatory approval for cultured meat will be the first of many in Singapore and in countries around the globe," Josh Tetrick, co-founder and chief executive of Eat Just, said.
The consumption of regular meat poses an environmental problem because cattle produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, while clearing forests to make way for animals destroys natural barriers against climate change.
Demand for sustainable alternatives to meat is increasing owing to consumer pressure, but other products in the market are plant-based.
Companies such as Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods and Quorn have made plant-based alternatives popular and they are a more common sight on supermarket shelves and restaurant menus.
There were concerns lab-grown varieties would be too expensive, but a spokesman for Eat Just said the company made "considerable progress" in lowering the cost.
"Right from the start we will be at price parity for premium chicken at a high-end restaurant," he told AFP.
He did not reveal the price of the nuggets but said they would be introduced at a restaurant in Singapore soon, before products such as lab-grown chicken breasts are brought out.
Eat Just said it hoped to make the products cheaper than conventional chicken in the coming years, the spokesman said.
The company conducted more than 20 production runs in 1,200-litre bioreactors to make the chicken alternative and checks on safety and quality showed its cultured product – the term for meat grown in labs using animal cells – met food standards.
Meat consumption is projected to increase by more than 70 per cent by 2050 and lab-grown alternatives have a role to play in ensuring a safe, secure food supply, Eat Just said.
"Working in partnership with the broader agriculture sector and forward-thinking policymakers, companies like ours can help meet the increased demand for animal protein as our population climbs to 9.7 billion by 2050," Mr Tetrick said.
The Singapore Food Agency said it approved the sale of the lab-grown chicken developed by Eat Just after concluding it was safe for consumption.
The agency said it put in place a framework for "novel foods" that do not have a history of being consumed by human beings to ensure safety standards are met before they go on sale.
Singapore became a hub for the development of sustainable foods in recent years, with start-ups concocting dishes suited to Asian palates.
These include lab-grown "seafood" and dumplings made using tropical fruit instead of pork.
Results
5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Astral Del Sol, Sean Kirrane, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Al Maryah Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Toumadher, Dane O’Neill, Jaber Bittar
7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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5) Angelo Peruzzi, Inter Milan to Lazio (£15.7m
Zayed Sustainability Prize
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
