U.S. gets first green light for synthetic meat

Synthetic meat, also known as "cultured meat," has been given the green light in the United States for the first time. The decision by the Food and Drug Administration (Fda), the U.S. government agency that regulates food and drugs, means that soon a company called Upside Foods will be able to sell chicken produced from real animal cells, grown inside bioreactors, thus without the need to slaughter live animals.

For some time in the United States, Fda approval was seen as the next key milestone for the synthetic meat industry. In recent years, startups in the industry have built small-scale production facilities and raised billions of dollars in venture capital funding, but have failed to sell their products to the public. So far, the few people invited to taste the synthetic meat had to sign a release stating that they were aware that the products were still experimental.

The country is now only two minor regulatory steps away before cultured meat can be made available to the public. Upside Foods' production facilities are required to pass an inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Usda), and before the company's food can enter the U.S. market, it must receive a label stating that it has been inspected. These two steps are likely to be completed much more quickly than the lengthy consultation process that led to Fda approval.

Currently, the various startups in the industry are focusing on a number of different synthetic meats, including beef, chicken, salmon, and tuna. Although the Fda's approval covers only Upside Foods and the company's synthetic chicken, more green light is likely to come soon. The U.S. agency approved the company's products through a process called Generally Recognized as Safe (Gras), through which food companies report details of their production process to the Fda; once it is convinced that the process in question is safe, the Fda sends a letter stating that it has "no further questions."

The Fda's decision means that synthetic meat products may soon be available to the American public, although it will probably only be possible to try them in a very small number of exclusive restaurants. Michelin-starred chef Dominique Crenn has already announced that he will serve Upside Foods' cultured chicken in his San Francisco restaurant Atelier Crenn.