Vow, an Australian cultured meat company, has received approval from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for its cultivated quail products.
This marks a significant milestone in the regulatory landscape for alternative proteins, as Vow prepares to enter the Australian and New Zealand markets following a 60-day review period by food ministers.
The approval process, which included extensive public consultation and review, concluded with FSANZ affirming the safety and stability of Vow ’s quail embryonic fibroblast cell line.
The organisation found no toxicological concerns regarding the production process and confirmed that the harvested cells pose minimal microbiological risks. This regulatory green light is crucial for Vow, which has already established a foothold in Singapore, where demand for its products has surged by over 200% month-over-month.
Vow has also achieved a significant scaling breakthrough, completing the largest-ever cultured meat harvest in history with 650 pounds of cultivated quail produced in March 2025.
The company operates the world’s largest food-grade cell culture reactor, with a capacity of 20,000 liters, designed and built entirely in-house by former SpaceX engineers. This reactor has enabled Vow to produce up to 2,200 pounds of cultured quail per month, with plans to scale production by up to 50 times by the end of the year.
Vow's innovative approach has allowed it to reduce production costs significantly. The new factory was constructed at a fraction of the cost of similar facilities in the industry, paving the way for economically viable mass-market adoption of cultured meat products.
This cost efficiency is critical, especially as the company seeks to meet growing consumer demand while navigating the challenges of the cultured meat sector, which has historically struggled with scalability.
The FSANZ approval includes new draft standards for cultivated foods, which mandate labeling requirements such as the use of “cell-cultured” or “cell-cultivated” for identification. This regulatory framework aims to ensure transparency and safety in the burgeoning market for alternative proteins.
Despite the promising developments, Vow has faced financial hurdles, including workforce reductions earlier this year as it sought additional funding. However, co-founder and CEO George Peppou remains optimistic about the company’s future, stating: “We don’t want to start looking prematurely for customers, but you should see us popping up in restaurants, hotels, farmers markets, and more once we get that final tick of approval”.
As Vow prepares to launch its products in Australia and New Zealand, the company stands out as the only entity actively selling cultured meat globally.
The upcoming months will be pivotal as Vow seeks to leverage its technological advancements and regulatory approvals to capture a significant share of the alternative protein market, responding to an increasingly health-conscious consumer base.
