Eat Just has followed Upside Foods in receiving clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration for a cell-based meat product.
In a statement yesterday (21 March), the FDA said it had completed a “pre-market consultation” with Eat Just and had “no further questions at this time about the firm’s safety conclusion”.
Eat Just’s Good Meat division has been developing cell-based chicken to launch for sale in the US. The FDA has studied the company’s production process, including the cell-cultured material.
The next step is for the US Department of Agriculture to inspect and clear the product for sale.
In social media posts, Good Meat, which already sells cell-based meat in Singapore, said it was in talks with the USDA. The company is eyeing a launch at a restaurant in Washington D.C. owned by chef José Andrés, who sits on the Good Meat board.
“Good Meat has cleared a crucial step as we work to bring cultivated meat to American consumers,” it tweeted. “We’ve received a ‘no questions’ letter from the US FDA, meaning that after careful and rigorous evaluation, the agency has accepted Good Meat cultivated chicken as safe to eat.”
In November, the FDA announced it had for the first time issued a so-called ‘no questions’ verdict on a cell-based meat product after studying Upside Foods’ production.
Uma Valeti, the CEO and founder of Upside Foods, described the FDA’s move as “a major step towards a new era in meat production and brings us closer towards our ultimate goal of making meat a force for good”.
Speaking to Just Food last month, Upside Foods chief operating officer Amy Chen said the company was “deep into the process” of consulting with the USDA.
“It has been very thoughtful, taking time to understand what we do. It has been a normal process and we are not anticipating any big road bumps. We are just waiting for that to complete so we can launch our initial product with [French] three Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn [from San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn],” she said.
