FDA clears Good Meat’s cell-cultured chicken following premarket consultation

U.S – GOOD Meat, a subsidiary of Eat Just that provides cell-based meat, has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) declaring its product safe for human consumption.

FDA reviewed the data provided by GOOD Meat Inc. and at this time has no additional concerns with the firm’s assurance of product safety, becoming the second company to receive approval.

The FDA’s current “no further questions” ruling for the cultured beef products made by UPSIDE Foods followed another premarket consultation that resulted in a “no further questions” determination in November 2022.

Upside Foods grows meat, poultry, and seafood directly from animal cells. These products are not considered vegan or vegetarian but meat made without the need to raise and slaughter animals.

To create cultured meat, commonly referred to as “cell-based” or “lab-grown” meat, GOOD Meat will use animal cell culture technology to take living cells from chickens and develop the cells in a controlled environment.

Premarket voluntary consultation is not a procedure for approval.

It actually indicates that the FDA has no additional concerns about GOOD Meat’s safety conclusion at this time after reviewing the data and information given by the company.

The review of the company’s production process and the cultured cell material produced by the production process, including the formation of cell lines and cell banks, manufacturing controls, and all components and inputs, was part of the FDA’s premarket consultation with the company.

Human food produced by GOOD Meat from cultured animal cells must meet the same stringent FDA requirements, including facility registration and applicable safety requirements, as other foods.

Furthermore, the company will require a grant of inspection for the manufacturing plant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA’s FSIS).

Before it can be sold on the US market, the food product must receive a mark of inspection from the FSIS.

FDA and USDA-FSIS are working together to make sure that GOOD Meat’s product is appropriately regulated and labeled as it approaches entering the U.S. market.

Meanwhile, FDA has announced its intention to offer guidelines to help businesses that want to create human food made from cultured animal cells get ready for premarket consultations. The guidance’s published draft will serve as an official forum for public comment and discussion.

Cultivated meat has been gathering pace for several years, with many developments globally. Seen as the solution to the world’s ballooning population, alternative proteins without the need for animals, and as a way to mitigate increasing climate pressures, companies are attracting billions in investments and the R&D race is well and truly on.

Although much R&D continues to gather pace in the burgeoning cultivated meat industry, Singapore has been the only country to permit the commercialization of products, proving to be a hub for the cell-based movement.

Approval in a significant market has been absent, including the EU, where it is expected in 2025/2026.

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