Current status of cultured meat technology and market in Korea

 Until recently, the cultured meat industry was a major issue as a means of animal welfare and carbon neutrality.

At that time, it excited the related industry as a technology development item in connection with the government's State Council, but now, the research and development status does not feel that active.

Even overseas, the production cost is higher than expected and the texture is far from realistic, so it is said that even if there are people who tried it once out of curiosity, no one has bought it more than twice.

Let's find out the current status and problems of the cultured meat market.

1. Current status of the cultured meat industry

The domestic cultured meat industry is still in its initial stages, and it seems that several startups are focusing on cultured meat production technology and culture solution development. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is pushing cultured meat as a core future food industry, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is establishing an institutional foundation by recognizing cultured meat products as food ingredients.

2. Obstacles to commercialization

- High production costs so far: Difficult to commercialize due to high technology and facility investment costs required for cultured meat production

- Lack of consumer awareness: Consumer awareness of artificial cultured meat is still lacking, and safety and ethical issues as food

- Legal and institutional regulations: Food Sanitation Act and other related laws and regulations have not established clear regulatory standards for cultured meat products.

- Technological shortcomings: Mass production technology development is still lacking at the laboratory level.

- Safety insured: Although it is said to be safe from diseases and antibiotics that occur during existing breeding, human safety that is unknown during the cell culture process is not completely secured.

Cultured meat is meat produced by culturing animal cells in a bioreactor (reactor). In Korea, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy has been supporting the development of cultured meat technology since 2020 through the 'Alchemist Project', and the Korea Food and Drug Safety Evaluation Institute under the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is researching related standards and test methods.

3. Comparison with Similar Protein Sources

This cultured meat is in competition with regular meat, plant-based alternatives, and edible insects, and it is understood that their strengths and weaknesses coexist, and that they will be connected in the areas where they are lacking and where they can be replaced.