A new era: Upside Foods and Good Meat receive landmark regulatory clearance for US cultivated chicken sales

22 Jun 2023 --- Upside Foods can start commercial production and sales of its cultivated chicken in what’s championed as a “historic step” in the US food industry after completing the pre-market regulatory review process. At the same time, Good Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just, has also received USDA approval for its cultivated chicken to enter interstate commerce.

This is a watershed moment for the burgeoning cultivated meat, poultry and seafood sector, which is watching closely for what happens next and how American diners and consumers will react to the long-awaited commercialization of cultivated meat.

Exactly when Upside Foods’ initial product, cell-cultivated chicken, will be available in retail is not yet known, but everything points to a major breakthrough soon.

The same is true for Good Meat’s cultivated chicken, with the first batches currently in production, making a debut on the menu of restaurateur and humanitarian chef José Andrés in a yet-to-be-disclosed Washington, D.C. restaurant.

Upside has already processed the first order of its cultivated chicken. The business model, for now, is to unveil the meat in limited quantities through select restaurant partners, starting with three-Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn and his restaurant Bar Crenn in San Francisco.

Comprehensive vetting
As part of the USDA’s approval, Good Meat received a grant of inspection for its demonstration plant in Alameda, California, as has its contract manufacturing partner, Joinn Biologics. 

This includes scrutinizing facilities and equipment, examining standard operating procedures for sanitation and the systematic approach to identification, evaluating and control of food safety hazards known as HACCP.

Upside Foods takes a sample of cells and places them in a cultivator, where they are fed with a blend of nutrients to multiply and grow. Good Meat has already received multiple regulatory approvals for its chicken in Singapore in 2020 and 2021. In January, the company also secured a key clearance relating to using serum-free media that paved the way for greater scalability and lower manufacturing costs.

The chicken has been featured in fine-dining restaurants, Singapore hawker stalls, via the foodpanda delivery platform and most recently by reservation at Huber’s Butchery, one of Singapore’s producers and suppliers of high-quality meats.

Receiving a label approval from USDA means that Upside Foods – which became the first company in the world to receive a “No Questions” letter for cultivated meat from the FDA in November 2022 – has demonstrated full compliance with all pre-market requirements for labeling, including acceptance of the company’s proposed label as not misleading. 

USDA also approves the name of the product, ingredient statement and handling instructions.

Upside’s cultivated chicken product will be labeled with a “USDA mark of inspection” on the packaging. This is the same USDA seal found on all meat products.

How significant is the regulation?
Regulation of cultivated meat mirrors that of conventionally-produced meat. With conventional meat, the FDA oversees the safety of new ingredients used in meat and poultry products and regulates live animals to be used as food up until they are presented for slaughter. 

At the point of slaughter, the USDA takes over jurisdiction to oversee slaughter, meat processing, packaging and labeling.

For cultivated meat, the FDA oversees the sourcing, selection and growth of the cells and all components and inputs used in the production process. The authority takes over when the cells are removed from the sealed cultivators, referred to as “harvesting.” 

How is the cultivated chicken made?
Upside Foods takes a sample of cells and places them in a cultivator, where they are fed with a blend of nutrients to multiply and grow. In two to three weeks, the meat is harvested and formulated. Exactly when Upside Foods’ initial product, cell-cultivated chicken, will be available in retail is not yet known.

Making cultivated meat is similar to brewing beer, but Upside is growing animal cells instead of yeast or bacteria.

Good Meat also feeds cells in a clean, sterile environment, mirroring how an animal grows but without the slaughter, antibiotics or hormones. It sources cells from chickens and cows and “painlessly” extracts them from an egg or living animal. 

Reaction to the regulatory breakthrough
Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of Good Meat and Eat Just, gives a nod to “the rigor and thoughtfulness” that the FDA and USDA have applied during this historic two-agency regulatory process, while Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of Upside Foods, says the approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to the table.

“It’s a giant step forward toward a more sustainable future, one that preserves choice and life. We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured Upside chicken and can't wait for consumers to taste the future,” he says.

Meanwhile, others in the cell-based and alternative proteins space welcome the two US regulatory approvals.

CEO and co-founder of Dutch cultivated pork producer Meatable, Krijn de Nood, says: “As an industry, it’s a moment to celebrate as we mark these companies successfully navigating the critical steps to the full commercialization of these products to meet the demands of consumers.” 

“In the EU and UK, we’re also seeing positive support in the regulatory landscape, with governments looking to remove the barriers to bringing cultivated meat to consumers and providing funding for innovation in food production, including cell-based foods. While Meatable continues to secure regulatory approvals in Singapore, we’re also preparing to work with the relevant US authorities to secure US safety approval for our products.”

Jasmijn de Boo, CEO of ProVeg International, adds: “This is fantastic news and will open the gates to many more product approvals, bringing nearer the day when the factory farming of animals and its associated environmental burdens will become history.” 

The chicken has been featured in fine-dining restaurants, Singapore hawker stalls, via the foodpanda delivery platform and most recently by reservation at Huber’s Butchery.“Animal agriculture is responsible for 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so it is vital that we further promote the development of cultivated meat around the world to prevent us breaching the internationally agreed 1.5 temperature limit.”

“The development of cultivated meat also allows more people to eat in a sustainable way, making the shift to more climate-friendly diets much easier.” 

Bruce Friedrich, president of The Good Food Institute, also applauds the US regulatory agencies, saying: “American consumers are now closer than ever to eating the real meat they love, that uses far less land and water than conventionally produced meat.”

“By undergoing a comprehensive facility review process and meeting the highest regulatory standards, cultivated meat will provide consumers with a safe and trusted source of protein. As we navigate a future with increasing global demand for meat, it is crucial that governments worldwide prioritize cultivated meat as a solution that satisfies consumer preferences, supports climate goals and ensures food security for generations to come.” 

What’s next?
Now both companies have received clearance, they will set about scaling commercial production. Facilities and processes need to be boosted, as well as supply chains. Many of the nutrients cells need to grow have never been required at such a large food-scale before now and this will be a central focus for Upside Foods and Good Meat as they race to get products into foodservice and, more importantly, into stores.  

Upside will launch with its smaller-scale processes but plans to operate large-scale cultivators at a site just outside of San Francisco called Epic, which can produce up to 50,000 pounds of cultivated meat annually.

Major progress has obviously been made in recent years, but some of the biggest challenges still lie ahead as food tech companies scale up their production, firm up their distribution and ultimately introduce Americans, in these two cases, to the taste and texture of cell-based meat, on mass. 

By Gaynor Selby