Cape Town-based startup creates Africa’s first cultivated lab-grown beef burger
Rafiq Wagiet
| John Maytham speaks to Brett Thompson, co-founder and chief executive officer of the Mzansi Meat Company.
Cape Town-based startup, Mzansi Meat Company, has created Africa’s first cultivated beef burger.
Its aim is to find a way to make healthier, more environmentally friendly meat products that taste just like farm-reared livestock.
The meat patty’s journey begins at Mzansi Meat’s farm animal sanctuary where veterinarians do a biopsy by removing tissue cells from free-roaming animals.
Once the cells are harvested, a sample is taken to the lab in Woodstock, Cape Town where the food scientist isolates the cells and grows them in a culture medium, a special type of food containing vitamins, salts and proteins that the cells need to develop and divide.
Once they have enough cells, they place them on an edible structure and after adding a few additional flavours, the cultivated meat is ready to be served.
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Yesterday we unveiled our cultivated beef burgers here in #CapeTown and we can’t wait for you to try them! This is only the beginning for us – the fire is lit and braai is starting ???????? pic.twitter.com/uZzYBfRSnL
— Mzansi Meat Co. (@MzansiMeatCo) April 13, 2022
???????????? #MzansiBurgerLaunch pic.twitter.com/FpINKIzKHO
— Mzansi Meat Co. (@MzansiMeatCo) April 12, 2022
Today I got to taste test Africa’s first cultivated beef burger unveiled by @MzansiMeatCo at the @Cape_IT BioTech Lab. Producing industries of the future, by creating a bridge between research and commercialisation. Cape Town is at the forefront on innovation and transformation. pic.twitter.com/BxcOgJbmyf
— James Vos (@VosJames) April 12, 2022
[We] essentially just replicated the conditions that are found in an animal outside. It’s 37 degrees, its amino acids, its fats, its sugars… After about 3 or 4 weeks, you’re able to harvest and produce a burger.
Brett Thompson – Co-founder and chief executive officer of the Mzansi Meat Company
In terms of cost, right now we’re in an R&D phase so it is quite expensive, but we want to be price parity with meat probably within the next five years.
Brett Thompson – Co-founder and chief executive officer of the Mzansi Meat Company
Our goal is to hit the market sometime in the next 18 months and land at a price on a patty at a restaurant for about R100 to R175. A premium product for now, but as we grow, we hope to reduce that price.
Brett Thompson – Co-founder and chief executive officer of the Mzansi Meat Company
Scroll to the top of the article to listen to the interview.
This article first appeared on CapeTalk : Cape Town-based startup creates Africa’s first cultivated lab-grown beef burger
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