Two companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, have received final approval from the United States Department of Agriculture. to sell lab-grown chicken meat, paving the way for the first sales of the product in the country’s history. With the approvals, the United States will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of so-called cultured meatwhich is derived from a sample of cells from cattle that are fed and grown in steel tanks.
The companies are the first to complete the multi-step US approval process for cultured meat. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has already determined that the meat is safe to eat.
“It’s a dream come true,” said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside, in an interview. “Marks a new era.”
The companies, which produce farmed chicken, plan to first serve their product in high-end restaurants before scaling production to achieve lower cost for grocery stores. The ‘synthetic’ chicken will first be served at Bar Crenn, a San Francisco restaurant owned by chef Dominique Crenn, the company said. Good Meat will sell its first batch of chicken to Grupo José Andrés, owned by the Spanish chef and humanitarian of the same name.
The companies said they are still working out an exact timeline for when the products will hit plates. Upside told Reuters it will soon announce the location of a new US production facility that is 10 to 20 times the size of its existing plant in Emeryville, California.
Cultured meat companies expect their products to provide an attractive alternative for meat eaters looking for a more humane and environmentally friendly option for their cuts, and that they may not be satisfied with the vegetarian products that are already on the market.
Livestock production generates 14.5% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Earlier this month, the Department of Agriculture issued label approval for both companies. The FDA issued its approvals for Upside in November 2022 and for Good Meat in March 2023.
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