The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday announced that it had approved a meat product made from animal cells for ingestion by humans for the first time. In documents made public on Wednesday, the FDA stated that it had examined the company’s evidence and had no further concerns regarding the conclusion that its product was safe for humans to consume.
A press release from the FDA said that UPSIDE Foods, a company that makes cell-cultured chicken by harvesting cells from live animals and using the cells to grow meat in stainless-steel tanks, will be able to bring its products to market once it has been inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
The FDA also stated that although the agency is prepared to collaborate with other businesses making cultured animal cell food, the review does not technically constitute approval and only relates to UPSIDE goods. “The world is experiencing a food revolution and the (FDA) is committed to supporting innovation in the food supply,” said FDA Commissioner Robert M. Califf and Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition in a statement.
“We are thrilled at FDA’s announcement,” said David Kay, UPSIDE’s director of communications, in an email. “This historic step paves the way for our path to market.”
An agreement between the USDA and FDA to regulate cell-cultured beef came into effect in 2019. The processing and labelling of cell-cultured meat products will be under USDA’s supervision. Along with growing knowledge of the substantial greenhouse gas emissions associated with rearing animals, the demand for meat substitutes has increased. At the COP27 climate summit in Egypt this year, chicken from a farm was fed to guests.
