Lab-grown meat can be kosher and halal, experts say

(Reuters) – Lab-grown meat can be labeled kosher and halal as long as its cells are derived in methods compliant with religious standards, according to two panels of experts commissioned by the nascent industry.

The opinions are a win for cell-cultivated meat companies, executives said, because it means observant followers of Judaism and Islam could one day consume their products.

“It’s another marker around making cultivated meat a real solution,” said Josh Tetrick, CEO of GOOD Meat.

Cultivated meat is currently only sold in tiny quantities in the United States and Singapore, but companies hope private and public investors will infuse the sector with enough cash to scale production and alter diets around the world.

GOOD convened a panel of three sharia experts who reviewed the company’s production and on Sunday said cultivated meat can be halal if, among other factors, the cells from which the meat is made come from an animal slaughtered according to Islamic law.

Though GOOD’s chicken does not currently meet that standard, the opinion provides a roadmap for the industry to make halal products, Tetrick said in an interview.

By Leah Douglas | Reuters