Cell-Cultured Chicken Gains Final USDA Approval

USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has given final approval to three California-based cultivated meat companies. USDA announced Wednesday it issued grants of inspection to Upside Foods, Good Meat and Good Meat’s manufacturing partner, Joinn Biologics. The companies may begin producing and selling lab-grown chicken.

Earlier this month USDA approved Good Meat’s and Upside Foods’ labels to include the term “cell-cultivated chicken” for packaging. Last fall the Food and Drug Administration declared a meat product developed by Upside to be safe for human consumption, paving the way for products derived from real animal cells, but that don’t require an animal to be slaughtered, to be sold in grocery stores and restaurants.

An FSIS spokesperson told Alt-Meat, a Meatingplace publication, "FSIS thoroughly reviews every application for a grant of inspection. Applications are approved following a rigorous process, which includes assessing a firm’s food safety system. After an establishment receives a grant of inspection, FSIS conducts inspection activities at the facility at least once per shift to verify the production of safe and properly labeled product."

Upside plans for its products to be first available at a restaurant: Bar Crenn in San Francisco. Good Meat will also debut in restaurants, with acclaimed chef José Andrés ready to serve it at one of his dining rooms in Washington, D.C., according to the Washington Post.

While the products may appear on restaurant menus, it may be years before these companies are ready to supply products to regional grocery store chains that can compete on price with traditional animal agriculture products.