NEW TECH FOODS

Australian biotech company Vow has announced that cultivated Japanese quail products under its brand, Forged, have been approved for sale in Australia and New Zealand, and will begin appearing at eateries next month.

Following a two-year-long approval process working with Food Standards Australia New Zealand, three products from Forged’s flagship cultivated quail line – which have already achieved regulatory approval in Singapore – will be available, set to appear on selected restaurant menus around Melbourne and Sydney from July.

Vow unveiled its cultured quail product a novel food crafted from a subspecies of the Japanese quail – in April last year. Launched in Singapore, the cultivated quail parfait is now Vow’s flagship offering. It is created using a small sample of cells from a Japanese quail. Scientists then isolate the cells responsible for texture and taste before placing them in a bioreactor.

The company followed up with the launch of its cultivated quail foie gras in November 2024, launching in in Singapore, Hong Kong and the US. Foie gras is a speciality delicacy that is banned in some regions, as it is made from the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force feeding. According to Vow, its cultured variety is made without any animal intervention, while providing the subtle, gamey flavour profile of Japanese quail with the texture of fatty liver.

Currently, Vow is one of only three companies worldwide to receive approval to sell lab-grown meat for human consumption. Other start-ups that have received regulatory approval include Upside Foods and Eat Just (under its Good Meat brand).

In a statement on its LinkedIn page, celebrating the milestone approval, Vow stated: "This isn’t just a regulatory milestone. It’s the start of something new: a way of creating meat that’s unlike anything you’ve tasted before."