Cultivated Meat Is Now Available In Hong Kong

Hong Kong has stepped forward as the first region in China to embrace the revolutionary food technology of cultivated meat. Vow, an Australian food-tech startup, has brought its cultivated Japanese quail products to the Hong Kong market.

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Vow’s flagship cultivated meat item, the Forged Parfait, has already found success in Singapore. The Parfait is a pâté made from cultivated meat (also known as cultured meat) to create a slaughter-free quail meat. Vow has now brought the product to The Aubrey at Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. Vow’s cultured meat take on foie-gras, Forged Gras, is also available in both Singapore and Hong Kong. The Gras is “A richly satisfying ‘fatty liver’ experience”, according to Vow. 

Cultured meat awaits the broader Chinese market

Vow’s breakthrough with regulatory approval from the Singapore Food Agency appears to have then opened the door to also getting the nod from Hong Kong, which has strict standards upheld by the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Vow CEO George Peppou said being able to sell in Singapore was an “important proof point.”

While cultivated meat has not yet been approved for China as a whole, there are positive signs that this is a question of when rather than if. The Chinese government has established a scientific innovation center focused on cultivated meat, showing that there is a keen interest and that the progress of this food technology is being monitored carefully.

Read more: New Partnership Brings Cultivated Fish To South Korea

The organization GFI APAC is undergoing work to enable collaboration between Singaporean and Chinese food scientists. The cultured quail reaching Hong Kong represents a breakthrough in the group’s goal to speed up the development of cultured meat technology in line with regulatory law.

What is cultured/cultivated meat?

Cultivated/cultured meat, is a form of protein created by scientists who cultivate animal cells in a laboratory. It is a process that circumvents the cruel and ecologically destructive methods seen in slaughterhouses and the traditional animal agriculture industry and has the potential to save the lives of trillions of farmed animals. Cultured meat replicates the taste and texture of real meat, and also addresses both environmental issues around food and global food security.

Read more: What Is Cultured Meat? Here’s What You Need To Know