‘A new era’: US regulator allows first sales of lab-grown meat
Upside Foods’ cultured chicken.
By Danielle Wiener-Bronner, CNN
Two companies, Upside Foods, and Good Meat, say they have received final U.S. Department of Agriculture approval to sell lab-grown meat, paving the way for the nation’s first-ever sales of the product.
With the approvals, the United States will become the second country after Singapore to allow the sale of so-called cultivated meat, derived from a sample of livestock cells that are fed and grown in steel vats.
The companies are the first to complete the multi-step U.S. approval process for cultivated meat. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has already determined that the meat is safe to eat.
“It is a dream come true,” said Uma Valeti, CEO of Upside, in an interview. “It marks a new era.”
The companies, which both make cultivated chicken, plan to first serve their product at high-end restaurants before scaling production to reach a lower cost for grocery stores.
Upside chicken will first be served at Bar Crenn, a restaurant in San Francisco owned by chef Dominique Crenn, the company said. Good Meat will sell its first batch of chicken to the Jos?ndr?Group, owned by the humanitarian and chef, Good Meat said.
