Ready to eat? FDA gives Lab grown meat the green light

For the first time ever, lab grown meat is no more a possibility but a definitive option with the Federal Drug and Health Administration issuing a safety clearance accepting that cultivated animal cell foods are safe to eat.

In a statement issued yesterday by Robert M. Califf, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs in the FDA, stating the world is experiencing a food revolution and have completed their first pre-market consultation of human food made from cultured animal foods. The FDA evaluated UPSIDE Foods as part of a pre-market consultation and has no further questions at this time about the safety conclusion. The next step before the food can enter the market, the facility would also need to meet the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and FDA applicable requirements such as facility registration for the cell culture portion, a grant of inspection from USDA-Food Safety and Inspection Service (FCIS), and a required USDA mark of inspection.

Upside Foods is a California-based company that makes meat from cultured chicken cells. The CEO Uma Valeti commented on the products stating that "these products are not vegan, vegetarian, or plant-based but real meat made without the animal." Similar to brewing beer, but instead of growing yeast or microbes, we grow animal cells." While this is not a full approval, the clearance applies only to food made from cultured chicken cells made by Upside. The FDA is willing and ready to work with additional firms developing culturedd animal cell food.