San Francisco-based food company bringing pork alternative to stores

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SAN FRANCISCO – A San Francisco-based food company is the first in the nation to bring its cell-cultivated pork to grocery stores this year. KTVU got an inside look—and a taste test—at the company’s kitchen.

Inside the Mission Barns test kitchen in San Francisco, Chef Daniel Ryan is cooking up something new.

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“The meatball will be our first product,” Daniel Ryan, Director of Product Development, told KTVU. 

The meatball in question is composed of a cell-cultivated pork alternative, made Italian-style.

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In March, Mission Barns received federal approval to bring its cell-cultivated pork directly to consumers, a process that took three years.  

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So what’s the difference between Mission Barns’ pork and what we’ve been consuming? They say, not much.

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“The cell material is real pork fat, and it acts as a portion of the fat, just like it would in real meatballs,” Ryan said. “Our product has an amazing record in terms of food safety. That’s a result of some of the handling of the cellular material. And the rest is comprised of plant-based material.”

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Meet Dawn

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The backstory:

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This pig is named Dawn. She’s just like any other pig. But her cells can be turned into pork products in the Mission Barns lab again and again. Allowing dawn to live out her life in a sanctuary in upstate New York, all while her cells help make food.  

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The Mission Barns team says their product is a more sustainable option, while still tasting good.

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“Probably my favorite attribute of it, is that after you finished chewing it and swallowing it, the coating it leaves on your mouth,” Saam Shahrojhi, Chief Technology Officer, Mission Barns said. 

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The team is also planning to release bacon this year, which they hope will make a big splash.

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“The Bay Area is the hub of innovation so being able to bring my skillset to a company like this and produce food that could feed the masses one day is a very exciting opportunity,” Ryan told KTVU.  

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If you are interested in trying Mission Barns products, they will be available at Sprouts and Fiorella, coming soon.