SA company to launch first ‘cruelty free’ lab beef burger

As the lab meat industry is obsessing with creating meat-like textures and tastes for vegan and vegetarian options, a South African cultivated meat company Mzansi Meat Co, has been harnessing this cellular agriculture technology to create real lab meat. 

Mzansi Meat Co announced after two years that they will showcase the first-ever cultivated beef burger in Africa in Cape Town.

The local company plans to upscale their cultivated lab meat production for the future to “ensure cruelty-free meat is available on as many plates around the country as possible.”

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Their lab meat will not only be in patty form but will also include sausages, nuggets, steaks and even chicken in the next few years.  

How is lab meat cultivated? 

At the company’s organic local farm, veterinarians remove tiny tissue cells from donor animals, who roam free with as little harm as possible.

Once the cells are harvested, a sample is placed in a nutrient-rich transport medium and taken to the Mzansi Meat labs where the cells are isolated and grown in a culture medium. “This is a special type of food containing vitamins, salts and proteins that the cells need to develop and divide.

” Once they have enough cells, they’re placed on a scaffold and after adding a few additional spices and flavours, the cultivated meat is ready to be dished up and enjoyed. The process of growing cell-based meat is similar to how beer is brewed,” the statement explained. 

CEO of Mzansi Meat Co Brett Thompson says South Africans are passionate about meat but consumers are more conscious of the state of the product when it reaches our plates and how it was made.  

“We’re bringing healthy, accessible and affordable meat to your braais, potjies and shisa nyamas by growing it from cells, instead of harming animals,” he concluded.

*Compiled by Sandisiwe Mbhele