Malaysia to Conduct Cultivated Meat Research to Bolster Agtech Sector & Food Security

The Malaysian government is undertaking research to determine the potential of cultivated meat and alternative proteins as it looks to find “sustainable alternatives to current crop production”.

The Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the National Institutes of Biotechnology Malaysia have teamed up to conduct feasibility studies on cultivated meat via universities.

The effort aims to bolster the country’s food security and safeguard its farming sector from the effects of climate change. Research has suggested that that grain yields drop by as much as 10% with every 1°C rise in the country, once temperatures reach above 25°C. Average temperatures in recent years have been 27.5°C.

The decision to study the potential of alternative proteins was agreed upon in a cabinet committee meeting on the National Food Security Policy last month.

“The government is committed to the development of the plant industry ecosystem, the adaptation of technology, and exploring the potential of future foods such as cultured meat, cultured meat products, and cell-based food,” Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim wrote on Facebook.

Malaysia joins Asia’s growing policy support for alternative protein

Recent months have seen south and southeast Asian countries ramp up policy and infrastructure support for cultivated meat. South Korea established a framework for regulatory approval of cultivated meat and a special regulation-free zone for startups in the sector. India is working on setting up a regulatory framework too, and has joined forces with a local startup to develop cultivated seafood.

Thailand will soon get its first cultivated meat facility thanks to a tripartite partnership involving Israel’s Aleph Farms. Singapore, a pioneer in this space, recently opened its Food Tech Innovation Centre and granted a food license to fermentation contract manufacturer ScaleUp Bio.

“With South Korea, Thailand, and other Asian innovation hubs making their own moves to capitalise the emerging cellular agriculture space, Malaysian authorities are wise to determine which parts of the value chain they are best positioned to contribute to,” Mirte Gosker, managing director of the Good Food Institute Asia-Pacific, told Green Queen.

In his Facebook post, Anwar said: “Initiatives like modernising agriculture through the development of plant factories will bolster the agricultural technology sector, providing sustainable food alternatives to current crop production.”

He added: “As such, these initiatives must be preceded by thorough studies to ensure food quality and safety are assured.”

Gosker suggested that Malaysia has “long expressed an interest” in cultivated meat, pointing to comments by YB Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, the deputy minister of science, technology and innovation, at the country’s first cultivated meat conference last year.

He hailed the novel food as an opportunity to “create job opportunities and revenue while addressing national challenges such as food security, health management, and climate change”.

Malaysia needs to develop novel food framework

The development of a local cultivated meat industry is a core strategy of the Malaysia National Biotechnology Policy 2.0 for 2022-30. Under this initiative, the country aims to “build an ecosystem of cultivated meat/fish, food for the future by using new and latest technologies,” wrote Cell AgriTech, Malaysia’s first cultivated meat startup.

The scheme has a list of short-, medium- and long-term goals for the sector, which include developing university curricula to nurture a dedicated talent pool, forming a cellular agriculture association to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing, developing a halal food standard for cultivated proteins, and establishing cell repositories and seed repositories.

Additionally, the programme aims to create a supply chain for the cultivated meat and seafood industry, develop affordable contract research services, and establish a regulatory framework for novel foods.

“Malaysia regulates new food types produced by ‘modern biotechnology’ under Regulation 3A – Approval for sale of food obtained through modern biotechnology of the Food Regulations 1985,” explained Gosker.

“No person shall import, prepare or advertise for sale or sell any food and food ingredients obtained through modern biotechnology without the prior written approval of the Director,” the policy states.

“Cultivated meat does not fit neatly into Malaysia’s current regulatory framework under Regulation 3A, which primarily addresses genetically modified foods. As such, there is a need for Malaysia to consider developing specific regulations or adapting existing ones to address the unique aspects of cultivated meat,” Gosker said.

“This could involve establishing a novel food framework or extending the scope of Regulation 3A to include new food production technologies like cellular agriculture, ensuring that cultivated meat products are safely and effectively regulated.”

Government support a catalyst for food tech capabilities

In 2023, Cell AgriTech partnered with Singaporean cultivated seafood producer Umami Bioworks to build Malaysia’s first cultivated meat factory. Situated in the state of Kedah, the 96,000 sq ft facility would have an annual capacity of over 3,000 tonnes of cultivated meat and seafood, and is fuelled by an investment of RM20 million (approximately $4.5M at the time) by Cell AgriTech.

The timeline of the government-backed study is unclear for now, but since the two startups have stated their intention to begin exporting products by 2025, Gosker is optimistic that the research “will help government officials determine how they can best accelerate approvals and support domestic growth of a robust ‘future foods’ sector”.

“While Malaysia’s alternative protein industry is still small, there are local innovators active in every technology pillar – plant-based, fermentation, and cultivated – who are driving domestic development,” she said.

This includes plant-based manufacturers Phuture and BaseFood, vegan brand Hoshay (owned by vegetarian food leader Everbest), biomass fermentation startup Ultimeat, and even Starbucks Malaysia (which buys plant-based products from Indonesia’s Green Rebel).

“Malaysia is a manufacturing powerhouse, and food manufacturing and processing is a significant component of the country’s economic growth,” said Gosker. “With the right government and industry support, these capabilities can be tuned to transform Malaysia into a fast-moving food tech follower that can accelerate the scale-up of alternative proteins in APAC.”

She added: “The Malaysian government’s focus on sustainability and innovation in the food sector can also create a supportive environment for the alternative protein industry, since initiatives to promote green technologies and sustainable agriculture may indirectly benefit the sector.”