Shares in BSF Enterprise PLC (LSE:BSFA), the parent company of tissue engineering company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT), ripped 11% higher on Friday.
While an MoU with a sustainable fashion company announced on Thursday may have pushed the needle, something else could be piquing the market’s interest.
A report from industry publication The Grocer yesterday suggested that the UK Food Standards Agency plans to launch a lab-grown meat safety testing programme in autumn.
3DBT's City-Mix cell-boosting product is currently being tested by an extensive number of potential customers including cultivated meat companies, universities and biotech businesses.
Lab-grown meat is considered key to tackling global emissions by reducing the effects of cattle farming but is not currently approved for human consumption in the UK.
However, things may be changing, with the FSA reportedly seeking to relax rules on the controversial technology in an upcoming board meeting.
This would bring the UK closer to the US and Singapore, countries where the lab-grown meat industry has made strides.
Natasha Smith, FSA deputy director of food policy, told The Grocer: “If funding is granted, we can create a team in the FSA that works with the cell-cultivated product (CCP) industry to agree on what should be included within their applications, address complex regulatory questions, and provide pre-application support to CCP companies.”
Whether due to lab-grown meat speculation or not, BSF’s shares shot up 11% to 8.87p.