Upside Foods secures USDA approval for its cultivated meat

[June 15, 2023]  By Leah Douglas

(Reuters) -California's Upside Foods said on Wednesday it received regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for the label on its cell-cultivated chicken, making it the second company in the United States to secure that approval.

Several companies are seeking approval from U.S. regulators for cultivated meat and fish products, hoping to appeal to consumers concerned about the environmental impact of raising livestock for food.

On June 8, California-based Good Meat became the first company to receive the USDA label approval.

"The USDA's approval of our label marks a major step forward towards our goal of creating a more humane and sustainable food system,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, Upside's CEO and founder, in a statement.

Both Good and Upside are still awaiting a site inspection from USDA, the final step in the regulatory approval process before their cultivated chicken can go to market.

Upside does not yet have a timeline for when its production facility in Emeryville, California, will be inspected, it said.

A logo of The UPSIDE Foods plant, where lab-grown meat is cultivated, is seen in Emeryville, California, U.S. January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Peter DaSilva

Upside was the first company to receive a green light for its cultivated chicken from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year.

Cultivated meat is made from a small sample of livestock cells collected from living animals, which are then fed a nutrient mix and grown inside steel vats.

The FDA and the USDA both play a role in the approval process for cultivated meat: the FDA assesses whether the product is safe for human consumption, and the USDA reviews the product's label and conducts the facility inspection.

Both Good and Upside plan to first roll out their cultivated chicken, if approved, at high-end restaurants where U.S. consumers are more likely to tolerate the product's higher price point compared with conventional meat.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas in WashingtonEditing by Jonathan Oatis and Matthew Lewis)

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