First ‘lab-grown’ meat approved by regulators in US

Regulators have approved “lab-grown” meat to be sold in the United States for the first time at restaurants and eventually in supermarkets. 

The Agriculture Department approved two California companies Wednesday, Upside Foods and Good Meat, to sell chicken made from animal cells instead of slaughtered animals. Companies have been working to try to launch this form of meat production to reduce harm to animals and the environmental effects of grazing, growing food for animals and animal waste. 

The Food and Drug Administration declared lab-grown meat from both companies as safe for human consumption months earlier. 

Upside Foods and Good Meat both praised the decision in statements. Upside Goods said the approval is a “historic, world-changing moment” that brings its vision closer to reality, while Good Meat called it “groundbreaking.” 

Lab-cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks with cells from a living animal, fertilized egg or a special bank of stored cells. Upside’s products come out in large sheets that are formed into shapes like chicken cutlets and sausages, while Good Meat turns chicken cells into cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat and satays. 

Good Meat already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, which was the first country to allow its sale. 

The meat will first be served in exclusive restaurants, with Upside partnering with a San Francisco restaurant called Bar Crenn and Good Meet working with a Washington, D.C., restaurant run by chef José Andrés. 

More time will likely be needed before the products can reach supermarkets, as they are much more expensive than meat from farmed birds and cannot be produced on the same large scale yet. 

There are more than 150 companies internationally are focused on growing meat — including chicken, beef, pork, lamb and fish — from cells. 

Polling has shown that the public might be skeptical at least for now about being willing to try lab-grown meat. 

A poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found half of U.S. adults said they are unlikely to try meat grown from cells. Most of those who said they would not want to try it indicated “it just sounds weird,” while half said they do not believe it would be safe. 

Upside Chief Operating Officer Amy Chen said she knows many consumers feel an “ick factor” about eating chicken grown from cells, but people tend to be more open about it once they learn more about how it is made and taste it. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.