USDA Approves Lab-Grown Chicken

The USDA gave two startup companies the go-ahead to sell lab-grown chicken. GOOD Meat, a subsidiary of food tech company Eat Just, Inc., and UPSIDE Foods will be allowed to sell their products that have been cultivated from real animal cells. Investopedia says chicken from GOOD Meat and UPSIDE has been declared safe to eat by the USDA. The announcement followed a “no questions” letter from the Food and Drug Administration earlier this year. Cultured meat, also called cell-based or lab-grown, uses stem cells from animal fat or muscle tissue to feed cells, allowing them to grow. It’s then grown to the proper density in bioreactors before getting separated by a centrifuge. “This news was a major moment for our company, the industry, and the food system,” says Josh Tetrick, CEO of GOOD Meat and Eat Just. Analysts predict the cell-cultured meat industry will eventually be worth approximately $25 billion.