The world's first lab-grown meat burger could hit commercial stores in 2020, according to the team of Dutch scientists behind the experiment.
"I feel extremely excited about the prospect of this product being on sale. And I am confident that when it is offered as an alternative to meat that increasing numbers of people will find it hard not to buy our product for ethical reasons," said Peter Verstrate, head of the new firm behind the lab-grown burger meat, according to BBC News.
The artificial meat was first created by Prof. Mark Post of Maastricht University in 2013. Post spent seven years turning stem cells into meat, while first finding success with mouse burgers.
The product's prototype cost $333,000 to make and was introduced to food critiques and researchers in London, where one Hanni Rutzler, an Austrian food researcher, was able to taste and comment on the artificial burger patty.
"I was expecting the texture to be softer. It's close to meat but it's not that juicy," said Rutzler, The International Business Times reported.
With the growing demand for meat, the project aims to be an alternative source, with the team hoping that it can soon be perfected to taste as close to real meat as possible, as well as cost less, according to the Daily Mail.
