| Bene Meat Technologies | |
| Industry: | Biotechnology |
| Founded: | 16.1.2020 |
| Hq Location City: | Kamenice |
| Hq Location Country: | Czech Republic |
| Website: | https://www.benemeat.com/ |
Bene Meat Technologies a.s. (BMT)[1] is a Czech biotechnology start-up focused on research and development of technology for the production of cultivated meat on an industrial scale. It cooperates with scientific institutions and companies in the Czech Republic and abroad.[2] The company has its laboratories on the first floor of the Cube building in Vokovice, Prague.[3]
Bene Meat Technologies a.s. was founded in 2020 by Mgr. Roman Kříž, who is the project leader. The main biologist of the scientific team is Jiří Janoušek and one of the external scientists involved in the ongoing research is the immunologist Prof. RNDr. Jan Černý, Ph.D. In 2022, the BMT research team consisted of 70 scientists[4] [5]
Developing a technology to produce cultured meat by propagating animal cells without using fetal bovine serum, ideally with growth factors from their own production. BMT claims that their final technology will allow its operators to produce and offer the product at prices affordable to consumers.
In March 2023, the company said that the first cultured meat product launched on the market may not be for human consumption, but as pet food.[6] However, BMT states that the creation of meat meant for human consumption is one of their goals.
BMT is the first company registered in European Feed Materials Register [7] for the production and sale of laboratory-grown meat for pet food; specifically cat and dog food.[8] [9] BMT claims to be the only entity in the world that can produce and sell this product for the pet food market.[10] By 2024, BMT plans to make several metric tons per day of laboratory-grown meat meant for pet food.