The FDA has cleared lab-grown meat for human consumption

(A hill) — The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Wednesday that it has for the first time deemed a lab-grown meat product safe for human consumption.

In the news releaseThe agency said that after reviewing information from UPSIDE Foods about the food products the company makes from cultured chicken cells, it “has no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion.”

The agency noted that before UPSIDE Foods, based in Berkeley, California, can bring its products to market, the facility where the food is made must meet FDA, USDA and USDA inspection standards. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

“The world is experiencing a food revolution, and the US Food and Drug Administration is committed to supporting innovation in the food supply,” said FDA Commissioner Robert Califf and Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) Director Susan Main. joint statement. “As an example of this commitment, we are announcing today that we have completed our first pre-market consultation for human food products made from cultured animal cells.”

In a separate statementCEO and founder of UPSIDE Food, Dr. Uma Valletti, expressed his excitement at the FDA approval of the safety of his company’s product, calling it a “watershed moment.”

“This is a watershed moment in food history,” Valletti said. “We started UPSIDE amidst a world full of skeptics, and today we once again made history as the first company to receive a ‘No Questions Asked’ letter from the FDA for cultured meat. This milestone marks an important step toward a new era in meat production, and I’m excited that U.S. consumers will soon be able to eat delicious meat grown directly from animal cells.”

In its press release, the FDA also said it is “willing to work with additional firms that develop animal cell food products and manufacturing processes to ensure that their products are safe and legal under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.” .

According to a report by CNBCThe global cultured meat industry aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the production of food products of animal origin and thereby increase the sustainability of the food system and reduce the effects of climate change.

“We are already in discussions with various firms about various types of products made from cultured animal cells, including seafood products made from cells, which will be exclusively controlled by the FDA,” the agency concluded in its press release. “We continue to encourage firms to engage with us frequently and early in product development, long before any proposals are submitted to us.”