Food Tech Startup Recruits Taste-Testers for Slaughter-Free Bacon 

This month, California-based food technology startup Mission Barns will select 50 to 100 people to conduct a weeklong taste test of its new slaughter-free bacon. The bacon is made from a combination of plant-based ingredients used for texture and a cultured pork fat—made from a small amount of animal fat cells grown in a lab setting. The company was founded in 2018 by Eitan Fischer and David Bowman, who previously worked for plant-based startup JUST. “We definitely are looking for a diverse set of folks in terms of palates and backgrounds,” Fischer told Forbes, adding that the company is looking for both high-end chefs and everyday bacon-lovers to test its first product. Interested test-tasters can sign up for consideration through the company’s website. 

The company is partnering with two restaurants, San Francisco-based Cockscomb and an unnamed restaurant in Oakland, CA to conduct the taste tests. Participants will be provided with dishes made with Mission Barnes’ bacon prepared by the startups’ director of product development, Chef Michael Wallace. The meals will be provided for free under the condition that taste-testers provide Mission Barnes with detailed feedback about its slaughter-free bacon.