Lab-Grown Chocolate Moves Closer to Market: What Could It Mean for Canadians?

As biotechnology companies continue expanding into the food supply, chocolate has become their latest target.

Mondelēz International, the company behind familiar brands including Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone, is working with Israeli biotechnology company Celleste Bio to develop chocolate made with cell-cultured cocoa butter—an ingredient grown in laboratory bioreactors rather than harvested from cocoa trees. The companies recently unveiled the world’s first milk chocolate bars made with cell-cultured cocoa butter, signalling that this emerging technology is moving beyond the laboratory and closer to commercialization.

For Canadians, the announcement marks another step in the expansion of biotechnology-derived foods. CHD Canada has previously reported on this trend in our articles on SynBio milk, gene-edited pigs and cloned meat. Now, chocolate is joining the growing list of everyday foods being redesigned through biotechnology.

What is cell-cultured cocoa?

Unlike conventional chocolate, which begins with cocoa beans harvested from cacao trees, cell-cultured cocoa is produced by growing cocoa plant cells inside stainless-steel bioreactors.

The process begins with collecting cells from a cacao plant. The cells are then placed into nutrient-rich growth media containing sugars, vitamins and other nutrients designed to stimulate growth. Once sufficient biomass is produced, it is processed into cocoa butter or cocoa powder that can be incorporated into chocolate products.

Celleste Bio says its technology can produce chocolate-grade cocoa butter using only a small number of cocoa cells, while California-based startup California Cultured is developing cultured cocoa powder using a similar approach.

Why is the chocolate industry investing in biotechnology?

Cocoa production has faced increasing pressure from crop disease, extreme weather, aging trees, climate-related disruptions and rising global demand, contributing to record-high cocoa prices over the past several years. Food manufacturers are increasingly searching for ways to supplement traditional cocoa production and reduce supply chain volatility.

Biotech is not the only path forward. The future of cocoa does not have to be limited to laboratory technologies. Regenerative agriculture, agroforestry conventional plant breeding and other farming practices that improve soil health, biodiversity and ecosystem resilience offer alternative approaches to strengthening cocoa production. Rather than replacing nature, these methods work with it while supporting farmers and the long-term health of agricultural ecosystems.

Questions remain about safety and transparency

As with other biotechnology-derived foods, important questions remain unanswered.

Producing cocoa cells outside their natural environment requires specialized laboratory conditions, nutrient media and tightly controlled manufacturing processes. Yet relatively little information has been made publicly available about the complete production process, how potential contaminants are controlled or what long-term safety data may ultimately be required before these products enter food markets.

Unlike conventional cocoa, cell-cultured cocoa has no long-term history of widespread human consumption or multi-generational safety data.

While cell-cultured cocoa is only now attracting mainstream attention, concerns about replacing traditionally produced cocoa with biotechnology-derived alternatives are not new. In a 2014 case study, ETC Group warned that synthetic biology could disrupt traditional cocoa production and affect millions of smallholder farmers who depend on cocoa cultivation for their livelihoods. More recent ETC publications expanded on those concerns, highlighting the potential economic and social impacts if biotech-derived cocoa products were to replace conventionally produced cocoa butter.

What about Canada?

Lab-grown chocolate is not currently approved for sale in Canada.

Health Canada has already published guidance on cellular agriculture, stating that the majority of products developed using these technologies are likely to be considered novel foods in Canada—even if they have already been approved in other countries. Under Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations, novel foods require a pre-market safety assessment before they can be sold.

Before these products reach Canadian grocery shelves, several important questions remain:

• What evidence will Health Canada require before approving cell-cultured cocoa products?
• Will independent long-term safety studies be available for public review?
• Will manufacturing methods and ingredients be fully disclosed?
• Will products containing cell-cultured cocoa be clearly labelled so consumers can make informed choices?

What can Canadians do?

While cell-cultured cocoa products are not currently available in Canada, now is the time for consumers to become familiar with these emerging technologies.

Canadians can take practical steps by:

• Knowing their chocolate brands. Learn where companies source their cocoa and whether they are investing in biotechnology-derived ingredients.
• Supporting local and organic producers whenever possible. Canada’s Organic Standards prohibit the use of genetic engineering in organic production and emphasize natural production methods.
• Staying informed about emerging food technologies and proposed regulatory changes.
• Supporting transparent labelling so consumers can distinguish biotechnology-derived foods from conventionally produced products and make informed purchasing decisions.

The future of food—or another experiment?

Lab-grown chocolate may be the latest biotechnology-derived food, but Canadians do not have to accept it. Every purchase is a choice. We vote with our dollars.

I verified this and it’s true“Lab-grown chocolate is coming to shelves in 2027. Oreo, Cadbury and Toblerone are already funding the Israeli biotech producing it because a lab is cheaper than a farm”

“Cadbury has been quietly replacing your chocolate — This dairy milk isn’t… pic.twitter.com/VgTyNkppsW

— Wall Street Apes (@WallStreetApes) March 8, 2026

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