LONDON — Meatly announced the latest findings from its at-home feeding trials for its cultivated chicken ingredient, Meatly Chicken, on Nov. 11. According to the company, the results show that dogs were able to consume the cultivated chicken safely and found it to be highly palatable. 

The trials were conducted by Treat Therapeutics. It included 31 privately owned dogs of 14 different breeds throughout the United Kingdom fed a complete-and-balanced diet containing Meatly Chicken and plant-based ingredients. The trials included at-home feeding observations, surveys from the dogs’ owners on product response, and veterinary checks. 

A single-day trial was conducted in which the dogs were provided the complete-and-balanced Meatly meal. An additional two-week, controlled trial was performed during which a placebo group was fed a plant-based diet and other dogs were fed Meatly pet food for seven days. 

According to the findings, dogs were found to enjoy Meatly pet food as much or more than their standard diet. Fifty percent of dogs continued to lick their bowl after the meal was completely consumed, 75% of owners reported higher meal enjoyment amongst their dogs, and 75% of dogs began eating the meal immediately or within a few seconds. 

“Dogs will tell you if they don’t like the food you’ve served them — so we’re ecstatic that the pets in this trial enjoy Meatly Chicken even more than we thought they would,” said Owen Ensor, founding chief executive officer of Meatly. “These results demonstrate that we can feed our pets truly sustainable and kinder meat without compromising on taste or nutritional values. We look forward to working towards our next milestone in the next few months — launching our first ever cultivated meat product to market.”

Additionally, the trials showed that the cultivated chicken ingredient did not lead to any significant adverse effects throughout the 134-plus recorded meals. According to Meatly, this confirms the cultivated meat’s quality and safety. 

Nutritional research has also shown that Meatly Chicken’s protein profile is comparable to traditionally reared chicken breast, containing all essential amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins in similar amounts. 

“By collaborating with us on these exclusively home-based trials, Meatly has taken a significant step in validating cell-based meat's relevance for real-world dogs,” said Emmanuel Bijaoui, founder of Treat Therapeutics. “The positive trial outcomes from a diverse pool of participants consolidate the potential of cultivated meat as a novel ingredient. Treat works with pets to run comprehensive clinical and nutrition research trials for a wide range of nutrition companies. We look forward to expanding our scope of work with Meatly in the future to explore health claims from the use of antibiotic-free, nutritionally complete chicken.”

This news follows several advancements in cultivated meat from Meatly during the year. In July, the company received regulatory clearance to sell its cultivated meat to pet food manufacturers in the United Kingdom. In May, Meatly shared it had developed a culture medium to make its cultivated meat ingredients, significantly reducing the cost of its ingredients. 

“Demand for meat around the world, from both humans and our pets, is far outgrowing supply, at huge cost to the planet,” said Jim Mellon, executive chairman and co-founder of Agronomics, an investor in Meatly. “The work and progress that Owen, Helder and the team at Meatly have made this year has been truly impressive, achieving incredible cost reduction, regulatory approval and now another financing to support the launch of its first product.”

Read more about the latest advancements in cultivated meat in pet nutrition.