Lab-grown burgers and chicken nuggets ‘could be on sale by the end of this year’

In the very near future, ‘guilt-free’ burgers which have only ‘lived’ in a dish as a mass of cells might replace ones made from real meat, a company has claimed.

Several companies worldwide are working on ‘clean meat’ products – and claim the lab-grown meats could provide a solution to climate change and world hunger.

Now Josh Tetrick, CEO of San Francisco ‘clean meat’ firm JUST has claimed that laboratory-grown sausages and chicken nuggets could go on sale by the end of this year.

Tetrick told CNN that his company, ‘can make chicken that tastes as good as the best chicken on the planet.’

He says that he believes products such as chicken nuggets could be on sale in Asia and America ‘before the end of 2018’.

Last year, a venture capital firm backed by Bill Gates and Virgin’s Richard Branson invested in Memphis Meats, which ‘grows’ meat products from stem cells, and can create edible meat in less than a month.

Memphis Meats says that the new lab-grown meat will save animals’ lives – and uses 90% less water and land to produce.

More than one trillion cells can be grown from one cell taken from a cow – enough for ten tonnes of meat.