FDA Approves First Company To Sell Lab Made Meat

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first company to sell lab made meat on Wednesday.

According to a press release, Upside Foods, a California-based company, was approved with a “no questions” letter after evaluation from the FDA.

The approval allows the company, which says its inspiration stems from a growing demand for meat, to produce meat that is grown from animal cells.

“This is a watershed moment in the history of food,” Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Founder of UPSIDE Foods said in the press release.

“This milestone marks a major step towards a new era in meat production, and I’m thrilled that U.S. consumers will soon have the chance to eat delicious meat that’s grown directly from animal cells,” Valeti added.

According to the FDA, the company uses animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and grow the cells into cultured animal cell food. The cells are given nutrients like amino acids, sugars, trace minerals and other vitamins, which causes them to multiply and turn into meat.

The FDA evaluation process looked over Upside Food’s “production process and the cultured cell material made by the production process, including the establishment of cell lines and cell banks, manufacturing controls, and all components and inputs.”

The FDA concluded after the evaluation that there are no safety concerns.