Lab-grown meat, also known as cultivated meat, has been approved for sale in the U.S. by USDA and FDA. Good Meat, a part of Eat Just, Inc., and Upside Foods shared the news, Wednesday.
Cultivated meat is produced by growing cells extracted from an animal’s body without slaughtering the animal in the process.
In the U.S., under the Federal Meat Inspection Act and Poultry Products Inspection Act, all meat and poultry sold commercially must pass inspection to ensure that it is safe, wholesome, and properly labeled. To accomplish this, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service places inspectors in slaughterhouses and processing plants. For the first time, inspectors will be assigned to cultivated meat and poultry facilities.
“This announcement that we’re now able to produce and sell cultivated meat in the United States is a major moment for our company, the industry, and the food system,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Good Meat and Eat Just, in a statement. “We appreciate the rigor and thoughtfulness that both the FDA and USDA have applied during this historic two-agency regulatory process.” The company has been selling cultivated meat in Singapore since 2020, the first country in the world to approve the product.
Immediately after receiving the grant of inspection, production started for the first batch of Good Meat’s cultivated chicken that will be sold to celebrated restaurateur and humanitarian, Chef José Andrés, operator of more than 30 restaurants in the U.S.
Upside Foods CEO Dr. Uma Valeti shared Tetrick’s enthusiasm for the approval.
"I'm thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.," he said. "This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table. It's a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future—one that preserves choice and life. We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured UPSIDE chicken and can't wait for consumers to taste the future."
Following this regulatory approval, Upside processed the first order of its cultivated chicken, placed by three-Michelin-star Chef Dominique Crenn.
Related: Cultivated Meat Nears US Approval; Biden Administration Launches Food Diversity Professionals Program