The measure follows the approval, last year, in the United States, of lab-cultivated chicken meat.

Aleph Farms from Israel received initial approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health in December, the company said in a statement.

The measure was announced late on January 24th by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called the development "a global innovation".

The company stated that it plans to introduce a "small steak" cultivated for customers in Israel.

The beef will be cultivated from cells derived from a fertilized egg from a Black Angus cow named Lucy, living on a farm in California.

Regulatory authorities still need to approve the company's labels and conduct a final inspection, said Yoav Reisler of Aleph Farms.

After that, it could take months before the product is served to customers.

Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks

Aleph Farms joins Upside Foods and Good Meat, two California-based companies that received approval to sell lab-cultivated chicken in the United States in June. Over 150 companies worldwide aim to create cultivated or "cell-based" meat, also known as lab-grown meat.

Supporters argue that manufacturing meat from cells will drastically reduce harm to animals and avoid the environmental impact of conventional meat production.

However, the industry faces obstacles, including high costs and the challenge of producing enough meat on a large enough scale to make production accessible and profitable.

Cultivated meat is grown in large steel tanks, using cells derived from a live animal, a fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells.

The original cells are combined with special nutrients to help them grow into masses or sheets of meat that are shaped into familiar foods, such as chops or steaks.