The company has successfully produced a cultivated beef burger by harvesting cells from animals.
Mzansi Meat, Africa’s first cellular agriculture startup, has announced that it has successfully produced a cultivated beef burger after two years of research and development.
“This is a huge milestone for South Africa and Africa,” co-founder and CFO Tasneem Karodia said. “We are at the forefront of re-imagining food systems for the better. Our technology aims to bring cultivated meat cheaper and faster to consumers by leveraging our local expertise.”
The company, which was founded in 2020, is committed to reimagine and reshape existing food systems by making meat in a sustainable and cruelty-free way without a negative carbon bill. Cells are harvested by veterinarians from animals at a local farm sanctuary before being taken to the company’s labs. Here, they are isolated, grown in a culture medium, and added to intricate scaffolds to generate a whole-cut product. The process cuts the requirements for exhaustive animal rearing and slaughter.
According to Tasneem and her team, Mzansi Meat plans to scale production as soon as possible, including bringing new products to the market, like sausages, nuggets, steaks and chicken.
