Cell-Based Meat One Step Closer to Entering U.S. Market as Two Companies Receive USDA Approvals
Cultivated meat products (also known as “cell-based” or “cultured” meat) are one step closer to entering the U.S. market. Companies UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat both recently announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave them a Grant of Inspection (GOI) and label approval to sell cultivated chicken.
Under a March 2019 formal agreement, USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to a joint regulatory framework wherein FDA oversees cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation. A transition from FDA to FSIS oversight will take place during the cell harvest stage. FSIS will oversee the post-harvest processing and labeling of human food products derived from the cells of livestock and poultry.