In an independent test with 40 cats, 20 chose the cultivated treat first and 20 chose the chicken treat.
17 cats ate more of the cultivated treat and 19 ate more of the chicken treat, a difference that is not statistically significant.
BioCraft can sell its cultivated meat as an ingredient in pet food in the EU, after registering with Austrian authorities.
BioCraft Pet Nutrition is an Austrian-American company that makes cultivated meat for pets. The company has tested its new lickable cat treat against Applaws Chicken Creamy Lickable Treat, one of the leading products among lickable cat treats.
Equal numbers chose each treat first
The test was carried out by the German market research firm Regionales-Produkt-Panel, RPP, which has tested pet food for more than 50 years. A total of 40 cats took part in their own homes, while RPP staff watched. Each cat got 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of each treat in two identical bowls placed side by side. The position of the bowls was switched between households, so that cats that tend to pick a certain side would not affect the result.
The result was close. 17 cats ate more of BioCraft's treat, 19 ate more of the chicken treat and 4 ate equal amounts of both. According to RPP, the difference is not statistically significant. For their first bite, 20 cats chose the cultivated treat and 20 chose the chicken treat.
BioCraft's founder and CEO Shannon Falconer says the company deliberately chose to compare against a treat that cats already like. According to her, the result shows that the treat can compete on taste, not just on safety and sustainability.
Mouse cells in tanks
The treat is based on meat from mouse cells. The production itself is similar to making yogurt. The cells grow in tanks and are fed a mix of sugars, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. What remains is a biomass that needs no further processing. BioCraft mixes it with other ingredients that are already approved for pet food and that do not come from animals.
The same basic idea, growing animal cells in a nutrient solution, is used for cultivated meat for humans. Back in 2021, we wrote about the Israeli company Future Meat opening the world's first factory for cultivated meat.
An independent analysis of more than 100 nutrients showed that the ingredient contains about the same amounts of taurine, lysine, methionine and tryptophan as the meat slurry used in pet food. The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 is better than in chicken slurry.
According to a calculation by the climate company ClimatePartner, made together with BioCraft, each kilogram (2.2 pounds) of the ingredient produces emissions equal to 1.73 kilograms (3.8 pounds) of carbon dioxide. For beef byproducts, the figure is 21.28 kilograms (46.9 pounds). That is 92 percent less.
From poor taste tests to a tie
The first taste tests with the ingredient did not go well. According to Falconer, the company chose not to mask the taste with common flavor enhancers. Instead, it tracked down the cause of the bad taste and removed it. Then it added components that bring out the ingredient's own flavor.
BioCraft uses generative AI in this work. The models analyze data from taste tests with both humans and cats and suggest new experiments. According to the company, the method can also be used for dry food, wet food and toppers.
Pet food makers can sell the treat as is under their own brand, or build more products on it. That way, they do not have to develop a recipe with the cultivated ingredient themselves.
Other companies are also testing cultivated meat on cats. In an earlier test, cats left significantly fewer scraps of BeneMeat's cultivated meat than of regular chicken.
Can be sold in the EU
Austrian authorities have registered BioCraft under the EU's rules for animal byproducts. This means the company can sell its cultivated mouse meat as an ingredient in pet food in the EU.
BioCraft sells the ingredient for about $4.40 to $5.50 per kilogram (about $2 to $2.50 per pound), a price the company says is on par with premium conventional meat. The company works with the pet food makers Partner in Pet Food and Prefera Petfood.
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