by Brenda Baletti, Ph.D., Childrens Health Defense:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday approved the sale of lab-grown meat for the first time, giving two California-based food technology startups the green light to sell chicken grown in a lab from animal cells.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Wednesday approved the sale of lab-grown meat for the first time, giving two California-based food technology startups the green light to sell chicken grown in a lab from animal cells, The Associated Press (AP) reported.
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The approval granted to Upside Foods and Good Meat — the first two companies to go through the regulatory approval process — makes the U.S. the second country in the world, behind Singapore, to allow sales of lab-grown or so-called “cultivated” meat.
The meat is made from cells from a living animal, a fertilized egg or a “special bank of stored cells” and cultivated in steel tanks. Over a series of weeks, it grows into sheets or masses, depending on the company, of muscle and connective tissue that are then formed into the shape of chicken cutlets and sausages, and cooked as food.
Despite the mainstream media boosterism around lab-grown meat’s alleged environmental benefits, many consumers are skeptical or even squeamish — either out of concerns for safety or simply because “it just sounds weird,” according to a recent poll by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
It is also extremely expensive to produce and cannot yet be produced at scale. Experts also question its safety.
“It is a dream come true,” said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside Foods, in an interview with Reuters. “It marks a new era.”
“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 of Eat Just and CEO of its subsidiary, Good Meat, which makes the lab meat, in a statement on Wednesday morning.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) called the meat a “food revolution.”
The companies received USDA approval for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the U.S., several months after the FDA said the meat was “safe for human consumption” last year and the USDA approved their commercial labels earlier this month.
Eric Schulze, Ph.D., Upside Food’s vice president of regulation and public policy, navigated the company through the regulatory process, ensuring the lab-grown meat was not subject to extra regulatory hurdles beyond that of any other regular meat product, “Because our chicken is meat!” Upside states on its website.
Prior to joining Upside, Schulze worked at the FDA, regulating the biotech industry.
The companies plan to roll out the product publicly at exclusive restaurants — both are working with Michelin-starred chefs. Chef Dominique Crenn will serve up Upside’s lab chicken at San Francisco’s Bar Crenn, and Good Meat products will debut in one of several Washington, D.C., restaurants owned by celebrity chef José Andrés.
Other celebrity chefs are less enthusiastic about the meat. Chef Andrew Gruel tweeted:
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