An Israeli-based company that specializes in 3D-printed lab-grown meat with non-GMO animal cells is building the world’s largest commercial-scale production facility in North Carolina.
Believer Meats, formerly known as Future Meat Technologies, is building its 200,000-square-foot facility in Wilson County, North Carolina, with an initial investment of $123.35 million.
Once fully operational, the facility’s production capacity will be at least 10,000 metric tons (22 million pounds).
The company said in a statement:
BELIEVER Meats, a leading pioneer of the cultivated meat industry, officially broke ground today on its first U.S. commercial facility in Wilson, North Carolina. Once operational, the 200,000-square-foot facility will be the largest cultivated meat production center in the world with the capacity to produce at least 10,000 metric tons of cultivated meat, without the need to slaughter a single animal. This is a watershed moment for the cultivated meat industry that will allow BELIEVER Meats to meet growing demand for decades to come.
“Our facility propels BELIEVER forward as a leader in the cultivated meat industry,” says Nicole Johnson-Hoffman, CEO of BELIEVER Meats. “Our brand has continually proven our commitment to scale production technology and capacity, and with our new U.S. production center, we are one step closer to commercialization. BELIEVER is setting the standard globally to make it possible for future generations to eat and enjoy meat.”
The company explored several well-established manufacturing corridors in Eastern North Carolina because of its highly qualified talent pool and the region’s success in integrating technology-driven solutions to improve the lives of residents, which aligns with the company’s mission.
“We’re pleased to welcome Believer Meats to North Carolina,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. “This important decision to build its first U.S. commercialization operation in Wilson County validates our innovative research and development and highly skilled talent while further cementing our state as the best in the nation to do business.”
According to the company’s November press release, they were the first to “immortalize animal cells without genetic modification.”
The company opened the world’s first cultivated meat production line in Israel in 2021, becoming the first company to immortalize animal cells without any genetic modification and has pioneered a culture medium recycling technology that can reduce production costs and waste. Believer is establishing cultivated meat as the new standard around the world—leading a bold change in how meat is produced in our global food system.
“The name Believer is a testament to our wholehearted belief that there is a better way to produce meat that is delicious, nourishing and cost-effective,” says Michael Lenahan, Executive Vice President of Global Commercialization at Believer. “Our DNA is rooted in bioengineering, and we are supplementing the conventional and plant-based meat industries with the pragmatic precision of engineers to bring more options to the market. Believer is passionate and optimistic, just like the amazing people behind the brand.”
In an interview with Interesting Engineering, Prof. Yaakov Nahmias, President, Founder and Chief Science Officer of Believer, explained what non-GMO production is.
“Believer utilizes fibroblasts instead of traditional stem cells. Fibroblasts are robust connective tissue cells that grow efficiently, even in complex environments. They undergo a process termed spontaneous immortalization in which cells rearrange their chromosomes and start growing indefinitely without genetic intervention. Thus, Believer’s cell stock for chicken, lamb, beef, and pork is non-GMO.”
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WeLoveTrump previously reported that the FDA in November approved lab-grown meat, a product grown from animal cells, for human consumption for the first time.
Lab-Grown Meat Approved in the United States for the First Time!
The FDA announced:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) completed its first pre-market consultation for a human food made from cultured animal cells. We evaluated the information UPSIDE Foods submitted to the agency and have no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion. The firm will use animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and grow the cells in a controlled environment to make the cultured animal cell food.
The FDA’s pre-market consultation with the firm included an evaluation of the firm’s production process and the cultured cell material made by the production process, including the establishment of cell lines and cell banks, manufacturing controls, and all components and inputs. The voluntary pre-market consultation is not an approval process. Instead, it means that after our careful evaluation of the data and information shared by the firm, we have no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion.
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