US approves nation’s first lab-grown meat, cell-cultivated chicken, for sale

By Alvin Wu
Science and Technology
US approves nation’s first lab-grown meat, cell-cultivated chicken, for sale

Close-up view of GOOD Meat cell-cultivated chicken. GOOD MEAT/Handout

June 24 (ZFJ) — Lab-grown meat companies UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat announced on Wednesday that they received the final Agriculture Department approval required to sell their chicken in the United States.

The Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service issued grants of inspection for the companies’ manufacturing facilities: UPSIDE’s Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center and GOOD Meat’s demonstration plant in Alameda, California. GOOD Meat’s contract manufacturing partner JOINN Biologics also received a GOI.

The GOI means that USDA-FSIS has determined that the meat production facilities are sanitary.

“The approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of UPSIDE Foods. “It’s a giant step towards a more sustainable future—one that preserves choice and life.”

The first step in the regulatory approval process was addressing the Food and Drug Administration’s concerns. The FDA issued no questions letters to UPSIDE in November 2022 and GOOD Meat in March 2023 stating it had no further questions at the time about their safety conclusions.

A week before their announcements, the companies obtained USDA approval for their meat packaging’s labels. Their meat will be clearly labeled as “cell-cultivated chicken.”

MAKING MEAT WITH CULTURED ANIMAL CELLS

Scientists first obtain cell samples from animals. These cells are screened, and selected ones are stored in a cell bank for later use.

To grow meat, a sample of cells from the bank are placed in a controlled environment (like sealed vessels resembling a beer brewery) and given a broth of nutrients, including amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals, fats, and vitamins.

The cultivation room at the Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center of UPSIDE Foods is where the company produces its cell-cultivated meat. UPSIDE FOODS/Handout The cultivation room at the Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center of UPSIDE Foods is where the company produces its cell-cultivated meat. UPSIDE FOODS/Handout

The initial cells then multiply into billions or trillions of cells and are given additional factors to prompt them to differentiate into different kinds of cells, like muscle or connective tissue.

Once ready, the cells are harvested and processed using conventional meat preparation methods.

THE CURRENT STATE OF CELL-CULTIVATED MEAT

Lab-grown meat is presently restricted to small-scale operations. Cell cultivation is still a relatively new technology, but both companies are continuing to improve its output and cost efficiency. UPSIDE says it can produce up to 50,000 pounds of meat a year and is seeking to increase their capacity to 400,000 pounds.

The U.S. produced 46,775.1 million pounds of chicken in 2022, according to the USDA Economic Research Service.

If scaled up, cell cultivation could replace the need to raise livestock, saving land and resources for feed while reducing animal waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Cattle raised for meat globally release at least 231 billion pounds of methane into the atmosphere every year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

However, lab-grown meat faces skepticism as to its safety and taste. An Associated Press-NORC poll found that “weirdness” and safety concerns are the primary reasons adults do not want cell-cultivated meat.

“When I told friends and family I was reporting on the first chicken meat grown from animal cells, their first comment was ‘Eww,’” wrote Associated Press reporter Jonel Aleccia.

She was then asked about its taste.

“Tastes like chicken,” Aleccia stated.

Additional doubts remain about the price of the lab-grown meat. The companies have not revealed the prices of their products.

GOOD Meat dishes have ranged from SG$4 at hawker stalls to SG$23 at fine dining restaurants in Singapore ($2.99 to $17.17). GOOD Meat says it has reduced production costs by 90% since 2018.

Furthermore, some consumers see no reason to switch from conventional to cell-based meat—the American meat industry continues to produce billions of pounds of meat annually.

AVAILABILITY

Although GOOD Meat has been selling its products at Huber’s Butchery (the first place to sell lab-grown meat in the world) in Singapore since December 2020, cell-cultivated meat will not be sold in American grocery stores soon.

UPSIDE’s chicken will be first available at three-Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn’s restaurant Bar Crenn in San Francisco and expand to other select restaurant partners. GOOD Meat’s chicken will be sold at chef José Andrés’ restaurant China Chilcano in Washington, D.C.

“We have taken a significant step forward, a giant leap in fact, towards feeding our communities in a sustainable way,” said Andrés.

SG$1 = $0.746358

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