June 21, 2023 -- Lab-grown chicken meat can be sold in the United States after two companies said they gained final Department of Agriculture approval for their products Wednesday.
Upside Foods and Eat Just are the first companies to make it through the several steps required to gain federal approval to sell cultivated meat. The Food and Drug Administration previously said the meat is safe to eat.
“With the approvals, the United States will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of so-called cultivated meat, which is derived from a sample of livestock cells that are fed and grown in steel vats,” Reuters reported.
"It is a dream come true," said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside. "It marks a new era."
Cultivated meat could appeal to consumers who are environmentally minded and want to enjoy meat without slaughtering livestock.
“Cultivated meat is not vegan or vegetarian,” Upside says on its website. “It’s not a meat alternative — it’s meat!
“We take a sample of cells, place them in a vessel called a cultivator, and feed them the right blend of nutrients to multiply and grow. After two to three weeks, the meat is harvested, formulated, and ready to enjoy.”
Upside will be available first at an upscale San Francisco restaurant, Bar Crenn.
“The flavor is phenomenal,” said chef Dominique Crenn through Upside. “The sear is perfect. The aroma fills the kitchen. It hits those notes everyone knows and loves.”
Chef José Andrés has agreed to serve Good Meat chicken at one of his Washington, DC, restaurants, Food Dive reported. Eat Just is the parent company of Good Meat Inc.
The novel meat is not expected in U.S. grocery stores anytime soon, the Associated Press reported. Cultivated chicken is much more expensive than meat from farmed birds and cannot yet be produced on the scale of traditional meat, said Ricardo San Martin, director of the Alt:Meat Lab at University of California Berkeley, according to the Associated Press.
Reuters says livestock production generates 14.5% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, citing the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.