PARIS - Gourmey, the French cultivated-meat startup, has secured funding to build a 46,000 sq ft (4,274 sq m) factory in Paris to produce lab-grown foie gras as producers warn about a potential shortage of the delicacy this Christmas.
The company has raised 48 million euros (S$68 million) for the new building, which will house commercial production and research and development operations, Gourmey said on Wednesday.
"We are getting to the production and commercialisation stage," co-founder Nicolas Morin-Forest said.
The main obstacle for Gourmey's foie gras, which is grown from duck cells but does not involve fattening and slaughtering ducks, is that the product still needs regulatory approval before it can be sold in stores, he said.
Lab-grown foie gras could one day provide an alternative to the farmed product, which has been hit by regular bouts of bird flu in recent years, forcing farmers to cull their flocks and leading to shortages.
Producers have warned that there could be too little farmed foie gras to meet demand during the crucial Christmas season, with 30-40 per cent fewer ducks coming from French producers this year, according to a report from Le Figaro newspaper.
The industry has also grappled with ethical concerns about the way the ducks are treated, force fed several times a day until their livers swell, which has led to bans in some countries.
Mr Morin-Forest said he expects the first cultured-meat products to be allowed to go on sale in the United States in the next few months with authorisation in Asian countries to follow.
Europe may take longer because of the continent's tighter regulations, he said.
The new Paris facility will be Europe's largest cultivated meat hub, with construction set to take between 18 months and two years. It should allow a planned annual production capacity of tens of thousands of pounds of high-quality cultivated meats, Gourmey said.
With 40 employees currently, Gourmey plans to triple staff to 120 in the next two years, Mr Morin-Forest said. The startup has raised 56 million euros in financing to date, including the new funds. BLOOMBERG
