NESS ZIONA, ISRAEL – After recently announcing plans to develop technology to produce cultured meat products using 3D bioprinting technology, MeaTech 3D Ltd. announced on July 6 plans to dedicate R&D resources to expand its offerings to include the mass production of cultivated pork. The company currently uses similar technology to offer beef and chicken cell lines to produce cultured versions of meat from those species.

Because pork is the most-consumed animal-based protein in the world, MeaTech said porcine cellular agriculture could expand its reach into new markets if it can be developed successfully. If R&D efforts can develop stable porcine cell lines, cultivated pork biomass production capabilities could become a reality, the company said.

“Our goal is to lead the upcoming agricultural revolution by making tomorrow’s meat safe, plentiful, sustainable, and ethical,” said Sharon Fima, chief executive officer of MeaTech. “MeaTech is developing a broad range of cultured meat technologies, developing potential alternatives to conventional factory farming of beef, chicken and now, pork. We believe that offering additional cultivated meat product lines can widen our addressable markets, generating additional revenue potential. Our goal is to be similar in all respects to livestock-farmed pork meat, while offering a significantly more sustainable and slaughter-free production method.”

Earlier this year, the company announced the establishment of MeaTech Europe in Belgium, with plans to produce chicken fat using technologies developed by Peace of Meat, a subsidiary of MeatTech 3D.