Cat food made with cultivated mouse cells approved for sale in Europe
The pioneering company behind the product is set to launch a nutritionally complete cat food made almost entirely from cell-cultured mouse.
Credit: BioCraft
A leading biotech company has become the first to receive regulatory approval to sell cultivated pet food in the European Union (EU).
As an emerging food and industry, cultivated food companies must first receive government approval to mark them as safe for human (or animal) consumption.
Last week BioCraft Pet Nutrition announced that it has successfully received registration from authorities in Austria, meaning the company can now begin selling its cultivated ingredients to pet food producers in within the country and across the EU.
As part of the regulatory approval process, BioCraft’s ingredients underwent safety testing in studies performed over a three-year period, along with third-party profiling that showed the animal-cell cultured ingredients shared a comparable nutritional profile with traditional pet food.
“Achieving ABP registration for an animal cell-based ingredient in the EU is a significant milestone for BioCraft and the industry as a whole,” said BioCraft founder and CEO Dr. Shannon Falconer. “This comprehensive safety analysis goes well beyond regulatory compliance and provides a meticulous breakdown of our feed safety protocols, including stringent supplier verification processes, traceability documentation, risk assessments, and SOPs for every critical control point.”
Credit: BioCraft
BioCraft’s first cultured cell-based ingredient is made with mouse cells, which the company says is the ancestral small prey diet of both cats and dogs.
Also known as cellular agriculture or lab-grown meat, cell-based meat production creates ‘real’ meat, but it is cultivated - grown - directly from animal cells, rather than a farmed animal.
The innovative process is predicted to become a key solution in creating a more sustainable and efficient global food system by producing meat that sidesteps the environmental and ethical issues typically associated with the current animal agriculture industry.
After the approval, BioCraft followed the announcement with further news of a landmark collaboration with Prefera Petfood, a leading wet pet food producer in Europe. The partnership will see Prefera Petfood use BioCraft’s ingredients to commercially launch a nutritionally complete cat food made almost entirely from cell-cultured mouse.
The pair’s upcoming product is described as a mouse “mousse”, and is said to provide the basic essential nutrients for both cats and dogs, while also offering a omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio that is superior to traditional meat.
According to BioCraft, early tests have shown the mouse mousse has “exceptional” acceptance rates among cats, with taste trials actually showing “strong preference” for the cell-cultured mouse mousse over conventional alternatives.
“Cats are notoriously selective eaters, so we're thrilled with the enthusiastic reception,” said Nicola Magalini, General Manager of Prefera Petfood. “It's clear that our feline friends can't tell the difference—except perhaps that they prefer it.”
Credit: BioCraft
Commercial production of BioCraft’s cell-based mouse ingredients is set to begin by the end of 2025, with its mouse mousse following after.
It is proving to be an exciting year for cultivated pet food, as the industry starts to reach landmark milestones and roll out products that have the potential to transform how the world feeds pets.
“Pet food producers are following this market space eagerly because there is a need for more ingredients that are supply-chain stable, sustainable, scalable, safe, and ethical,” said Patricia Heydtmann, a Director at Partner in Pet Food, one of Europe’s leading pet food manufacturers.
Earlier this year, the world’s first cultivated pet food went on sale in the UK. The trial launch saw Meatly’s ‘Chick Bites’, which are cultivated from cells taken from a single chicken egg, sold at the country’s largest retailer of pet supplies.
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