New York (AFP)

Creating meat from a few cells is no longer just science fiction: a cosmonaut has just produced it aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The arrival of these products in supermarkets is a priori more than a matter of years.

Space tests in September resulted in beef, rabbit and fish fabrics using a 3D printer.

This new technology could "make long-term travel possible and renew space exploration", to Mars for example, explains to AFP Didier Toubia, the head of the Israeli start-up Aleph Farms who provided cells for the 'experience.

"But our goal is to sell meat on Earth," he adds. According to Mr. Toubia, these tests demonstrated that it was possible to produce meat far from any natural resource and when the need arose.

"Our goal is not to replace traditional agriculture," says Didier Toubia. "It's about being a better alternative to industrial operations."

- 'Cultivated meat'? -

The first "in vitro" burger designed from cow stem cells by a Dutch scientist from the University of Maastricht, Mark Post, was presented in 2013. Several start-ups have since become engulfed in the niche market.

The cost of production is still very high and no product is available for sale.

Meat "laboratory", "artificial", "cell-based", "cultivated", the name itself is still debate.

But tastings have already taken place and industry players are banking on small-scale commercialization rather quickly.

"Probably this year," JUST California boss Josh Tetrick told a conference in San Francisco in early September. "Not in 4,000 Walmart supermarkets or in all McDonalds, but in a handful of restaurants".

"The question is to know what we want to propose and at what cost," said Niya Gupta, boss of New York start-up Fork & Goode.

Because if innovations in laboratories are increasing, the sector is still struggling to master the processes and machines to develop on a large scale.

The arrival on the shelves of supermarkets at reasonable prices could be made, according to estimates, in five to twenty years.

It would be necessary, by the confession of several observers, much more investments. The sector had attracted a total of only $ 73 million in 2018 according to the organization promoting alternatives to meat and fish, The Good Food Institute.

Another major obstacle is the regulation, still imprecise.

In the United States, for example, in March, the administration outlined a regulatory framework that shared the oversight of these cell-based foods between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food Safety Agency (FDA). . But it is not finalized yet.

- Labeling -

For their supporters, meat and fish-based cells can transform the production system sustainably by avoiding raising and killing animals.

However, questions remain about their real environmental impact, particularly their energy consumption, and their safety.

But for fish for example, "the opportunities are huge," says Lou Cooperhouse, boss of the start-up BlueNalu.

"The demand (in fish) at the global level has never been greater," he told AFP. But "there is a real problem of supply" between overfishing, climate change and permanent uncertainty about what will be brought back into the nets. Coupled with "a problem with the supply itself" with the presence for example of mercury in some fish.

"Why not add a third category of fish: + fished +, + high +, + based on + cells," says Cooperhouse.

Created in 2018, its company is developing a technological platform that can be used to design various seafood products, mainly fish fillets, without edges or skin.

The scientific literature on stem cells, biological engineering or organic tissue printing already existed, argues BlueNalu's chief technology officer, Chris Dammann. "We had to bring everything together and optimize it."

The rise of animal cell-based proteins does not really scare traditional agriculture.

"It's on our radar" and "some people, for societal reasons, will want to eat this product," admitted Scott Bennett in charge of Congressional Relations for the country's largest farm trade union, Farm Bureau. But the market is large and will grow with the growing consumption of animal protein in developing countries.

The important thing is not to mislead the consumer and ensure that the labeling is clear.

© 2019 AFP