Arab News, Thursday, Aug 27, 2020 | Muharram 8, 1442
Saudi investor takes chunk of US synthetic pet food maker
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi entrepreneur Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal is boosting his
involvement in a US company that claims to have produced the world’s first
animal-free, cultured chicken meat protein for pet food.
The vegan son of hotel tycoon Prince Alwaleed is investing for the second time
in US-based Bond Pet Foods through his company KBW Ventures after participating
in a $1.2 million seed funding round last year.
It is the fourth cellular agriculture startup that KBW Ventures has invested in
and comes as interest in synthetic proteins increases, in part because of global
food security worries.
Using a proprietary production process, Bond is able to take a blood sample from
a hen to determine the genetic code for the best types of chicken proteins to be
used in pet food. This code is then coupled with a strain of food grade yeast.
When this yeast is grown in a fermentation tank, it churns out meat proteins
that are identical to those typically produced on farm and field.
“The science team at Bond is also working on production of other cultured meat
proteins made through a similar fermentation process,” said Bond Pet Foods
co-founder Pernilla Audibert.”
Bond’s cultured chicken protein is set to result in products in 2023. It will
have the same primary nutrients of conventional chicken meat, including its
essential amino acids, the company claims.