Aleph Farms, an Israeli food tech company, has announced the acquisition of a manufacturing facility in Modi’in, Israel, and related assets from VBL Therapeutics. The move is expected to increase the local output of cultivated meat as the company gears up to launch its thin-cut steak in Israel and Singapore. In addition, Aleph Farms signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ESCO Aster, a Singapore-based vertically-integrated contract manufacturing organization, to produce cultivated meat in Singapore.
ESCO Aster is the first and only company in the world to receive full regulatory approval from a government authority, the Singapore Food Agency. It is certified to produce cultivated meat for commercial sales and consumption at the highest safety standards. The MOU covers the use of ESCO Aster’s manufacturing expertise in producing Aleph Farms’ cultivated meat in Singapore and positions Singapore as a focal point for Aleph Farms’ future expansion in Southeast Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
The MOU also represents a step towards earning halal certification for the food tech’ cultivated thin-cut steak. Aleph Farms and ESCO Aster are planning for the latter’s enabled meat facility in Singapore to be the first Halal-certified facility in the world. Aleph Farms is also in touch with religious authorities around the globe about certifying their products as viable dietary options for people with different spiritual practices.
In January, the Chief Rabbi of Israel ruled Aleph Farms’ cultivated steak to be kosher, opening the door for the company to receive a kosher certificate before their market launch later this year. With acquiring a manufacturing facility in Israel and the MOU with ESCO Aster in Singapore, Aleph Farms is strategically positioning itself for global expansion in the cultivated meat industry.
The cultivation of meat is a rapidly growing area of innovation in the food industry, with the potential to address issues such as animal welfare, environmental impact, and food security. The FoodTech company is one of several companies at the forefront of this field, using biotechnology to produce meat free from antibiotics, hormones, and other additives commonly found in conventionally produced meat. With the acquisition of the manufacturing facility in Israel and the partnership with ESCO Aster in Singapore, Aleph Farms is poised to take advantage of the growing demand for cultivated meat in the global market.
From left to right: Didier Toubia (CEO and co-founder of Aleph Farms); Ambassador of Israel to Singapore, HE Sagi Karni (Ambassador of Israel to Singapore); HE Lim Chuan Poh (Non-Resident Ambassador of Singapore to Israel and Chairman of the Singapore Food Agency); Xiangliang (XL) Lin (CEO of ESCO Aster and Deputy CEO of ESCO Lifesciences Group). Image provided by Aleph Farms
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