Steakholder Foods (formerly MeaTech), an Israeli food tech developing cell-cultured meats, announced it has begun isolation of cells sourced from cattle raised in United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved farms. The USDA is expected to play an important role in gaining regulatory approval for the sale of cell-cultured meat.

Keeping in line with regulatory guidelines published by the USDA and FSIS, the company is collecting samples from properly vetted and healthy animals in a sterile environment as per food safety requirements.

The company is expecting to create a line of hybrid meats–at its pilot plant in Belgium which is slated to be operational in 2023–and commercialize in Israel, Singapore, and the US.

AnalystQuickTake: While the US has not yet approved the sale of cell-cultured meat they are well on their way with the recent announcement of President Biden signing an executive order in support of cultivated meat . The company has already begun its plans for commercialization and will be at the forefront when approval comes through, especially with it working closely with the USDA. Although the sale of cultivated meat is currently only possible in Singapore the US would be the ideal market given its size and percentage of meat eaters.