For the first time in U.S. history, lab-grown meat has been greenlit by the Food and Drug Administration.
The start-up known as Upside Foods has received positive feedback from the FDA, a milestone for meat enthusiasts seeking alternatives to animal slaughter. Founded in 2015 as the world’s first cultivated meat company, they created the world’s first lab-generated beef meatball. Since then, the company has attracted several major investors, including Tyson Foods and Bill Gates. Up until now, people who tasted Upside meats were required to sign a waiver stating that they understood the food was not FDA-approved.
“It’s the moment we’ve been working toward for the past, almost seven years now,” said Upside’s CEO Uma Valeti, Upside’s CEO.
Upside was granted approval through an FDA process called Generally Recognized as Safe. This allowed Upside to provide details of its products and production method. Once the FDA declared the meat and process safe, a “no further questions” letter was issued. Before Upside can take its poultry public in the U.S., it must undergo an inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture before it makes its way to supermarkets and restaurants in the U.S. As of now, only cultivated chicken has gained approval.
According to his company, the cells from a single chicken can be used to cultivate the same quantity of poultry that is currently produced using hundreds of thousands of farmed chickens.
Pending FDA approval, Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn announced she would welcome Upside Foods’ cultivated chicken at her San Francisco restaurant, Atelier Crenn.
