The Orthodox Union has for the first time recognized a strain of lab-grown meat as kosher, marking a significant development in the field of kashrus.
The Israeli startup SuperMeat’s lab-grown poultry received the certification. The certification came after SuperMeat hosted two rabbinic delegations and held extensive discussions with the kashrus authorities about halachic issues and the technological processes used by SuperMeat.
Rabbi Hershel Schachter of Yeshiva University in New York, Rabbi Asher Weiss, and Rabbi Yosef Zvi Rimon of the Gush Etzion Regional Council and Jerusalem College of Technology were among the eminent rabbis who took part in the certification process.
This advancement was highlighted as being significant by Rabbi Menachem Genack, CEO of the Orthodox Union Kosher Division, who said, “It’s a big deal because just in terms of the technology itself, not just in poultry but in meat, it may have real significance for the future.”
Given that it is illegal to eat any part of a living animal, the initial use of stem cells derived from living animals in the meat cultivation process presents special challenges for certifying lab-grown meat.
According to the rules of the Orthodox Union, all meat products must come from slaughtered animals; none may be derived from living things.
By utilizing stem cells derived from eggs, SuperMeat’s method for lab-grown poultry overcomes this difficulty and may open the door for additional kosher certifications of poultry products.
The standards for lab-grown meat were a topic on which Rabbi Genack expressed his hope that this development would result in agreement among various supervising organizations.
We’re hoping that this will set the trend,” he said. To achieve something that is universally embraced is one of our objectives.
In the special method used by SuperMeat, chicken cells from fertilized eggs are grown in a meat fermenter.
A liquid derived from plants provides heat, oxygen, and nutrition to these cells, simulating the natural growth process in a chicken’s body. The meat tissue grows quickly, doubling in size in just a few hours. When ready, the liquid feed is taken out of the fermenter to harvest the meat.
When compared to conventionally farmed meat, SuperMeat’s lab-grown chicken products have a number of advantages.
Their method preserves high quality control, avoids the use of antibiotics or genetic engineering, is animal-friendly and environmentally conscious, avoids the need for slaughter, a major source of contamination, and increases product shelf life.
SuperMeat, a company that was established in 2015, sells its goods through “The Chicken,” a restaurant in Ness Ziona in the center of Israel.
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