Lab-grown chicken made by US start-up Eat Just made its historic culinary debut on December 19 at restaurant 1880 in Singapore, after the country became the first to approve the sale of cultured meat which are cultivated without slaughtering any animals.

US start-up Eat Just revealed that its product had been approved for sale in the city-state as an ingredient in chicken nuggets. Eat Just chief executive Josh Tetrick said that the launch "moves us closer to a world where the majority of meat we eat will not require tearing down a single forest, displacing a single animal's habitat or using a single drop of antibiotics".

The company on December 16 said it had made its first commercial sale of the product to 1880, a restaurant in Singapore's Robertson Quay, a posh riverside entertainment centre.

According to CNBC Make It, the GOOD Meat Cultured Chicken will be available in a trio of sample dishes: bao bun with crispy sesame cultured chicken and spring onion; phyllo puff pastry with cultured chicken and black bean puree; and a crispy maple waffle with cultured chicken with spices and hot sauce. The trio will cost about $23, Tetrick told the news portal.

The restaurant began serving the cultured meat on December 19 evening, saying its first diners were students aged 14-18 who had been invited to the launch after showing "a commitment to building a better planet", reported news agency AFP.