The Dutch government has approved cultured meat tastings in the Netherlands for the first time, in a move local industry and politicians hope will regain the nation’s former standing as a pioneer in the cell-based market.

Approved by the Netherlands House of Representatives following a motion put forward last week by parliament member Tjeer de Groot, the tastings are an obligatory measure for future approval by the European Food Standards Authority (EFSA).

The approval for tastings, which was passed by a large majority in the House of Representatives, could pave the way for the Netherlands to build a “silicon valley” of cultured meat and bring business back to the place where the technology began, De Groot says.

“I think we should really invest in this technology by creating an environment for knowledge sharing, an ecosystem where companies can take the knowledge and go to the market with it. At the moment, it’s mostly privatized – money isn’t the problem, but organization is,” [says De Groot.]

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If the Netherlands is to succeed in rebuilding its status as the global hub for cell-based animal proteins, it will have a long way to go. Currently, start-ups working in the US and Asia are soaring ahead of the competition.

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