Cultivated foie gras company seeks approval to sell in five key markets
Paris-based food company Gourmey, which has raised over $70 million in funding for its cultivated duck product, is aiming to enter markets in the US, UK, and more.
Credit: Gourmey
A Paris-based food company has developed a cultivated duck product that aims to offer a kinder solution to controversial foie gras.
And the much-anticipated product may be available to consumers soon - as the company has now submitted approval requests for market access in five initial global markets including the United States and the European Union.
The French cultivated food company Gourmey is behind the product and has already secured over $70 million in public and private investments for its cruelty-free foie gras.
Having only been founded in 2019, Gourmey now comprises a 60-strong international team and says it now has the backing of a global network of fine food distributors, chef ambassadors, and supply chain and research partners.
The financial and industry support that the company has received so far shows the appetite for a humane alternative to foie gras. Traditional foie gras - French for “fatty liver” - has long been condemned for its cruel production methods, in which geese and ducks are force-fed until their livers become unnaturally engorged.
As part of this process, animals farmed for foie gras typically have long metal tubes inserted down their throats to force feed them high-calorie food every day for months until their livers expand 6 to 10 times their normal size. Known as the “gavage”, force feeding can cause injuries to birds’ beaks and throats, as well as psychological distress and even multiple organ failure.
The production of foie gras is illegal in several countries including Denmark, Italy, and Germany. It is also outlawed in the EU - although a legal loophole that considers foie gras a cultural tradition relating to regional heritage allows five EU member states to continue its production.
Despite the animal cruelty involved in its production, foie gras is still seen as a delicacy in some countries like France and the US.
That’s led to companies like Gourmey to produce a kinder alternative to the product. Its cultivated foie gras creates culinary-grade meat from real animal cells but without having to farm - or force-feed - an animal.
Cultivated meat instead cultivates - or grows - the animal’s cells in a controlled setting in a process that is similar to beer brewing.
As well as removing animal slaughter from the production process, cultivated meat is more sustainable too.
Gourmey say its innovative technology “significantly lowers” the environmental footprint of producing foie gras, and requires less land and water use and emits less greenhouse gas emissions.
So when can consumers expect to try cultivated foie gras?
Gourmey announced July 26 that it has filed applications with food agencies in the United States, Singapore, UK, Switzerland, and the European Union for approval to sell in these five markets.
This is the standard regulatory process for the food industry that marks novel foods as safe and permits their sale. Several companies including the US, Singapore, and Israel have already granted approval to other cultivated meat products, and Gourmey hopes to be next.
“We are confident that our products will meet these highly demanding standards, so that everyone who wants to can enjoy new gourmet experiences all around the world,” said Gourmey’s CEO Nicolas Morin-Forest.
Foie gras from the fatty liver of a goose or duck is known to be extremely cruel to produce. Several countries have already banned the product from being sold - and Species Unite is now calling on the USDA to ban foie gras in the United States too. Add your name to the petition here.
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