On this day in vegan history · March 21, 2023
GOOD Meat Clears the FDA's Second Cultivated-Chicken Review
A company that had been selling lab-grown chicken in Singapore since 2020 finally got the FDA to say it had no more questions about eating it in America.
The facts
- Date
- March 21, 2023
- FDA action
- Second pre-market consultation for a cultured animal-cell food (first was UPSIDE Foods, November 2022)
- Prior approval
- Singapore, 2020, the world's first regulatory clearance for cultivated meat
- Remaining hurdle
- Sign-off from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service before any sale
On March 21, 2023, the FDA completed its second pre-market consultation for a food made from cultured animal cells, telling GOOD Meat it had no further questions about the safety of its cultivated chicken. GOOD Meat, a brand of Eat Just co-founded by Josh Tetrick, had already been selling the same chicken in Singapore since 2020, the world's first regulatory approval for cultivated meat, but this marked its first clearance in the United States, four months after UPSIDE Foods became the first. The FDA's consultation was not a formal approval, only its statement that it had no further safety questions about the company's own conclusions, and GOOD Meat still needed a green light from USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service before selling a single plate. The company said it planned to serve the chicken at a Washington, D.C. restaurant with chef Jose Andres once that hurdle cleared.
In their words
The day in the words of the people who were there. Every quote is verbatim, and every source links out so you can check it.
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Since Singapore approved GOOD Meat for sale, we knew this moment was next. I am so proud to bring this new way of making meat to my country and to do it with a hero of mine, Chef Jose Andres.
Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of GOOD Meat and Eat Just, March 21, 2023
Source: GOOD Meat press release
Why it still matters
It made GOOD Meat the second cultivated meat producer cleared by U.S. regulators, showing Singapore's 2020 approval wasn't a one-off and that a real, if narrow, path to the American market existed for meat grown from cells instead of animals.
Sources
This history is still being written.
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