On June 8, 2023, GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just Inc., became the first company to receive label approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its cultivated meat.

The label will use the term “cell-cultivated” although GOOD Meat and others in the industry prefer the term “cultivated” which we have previously discussed.

FDA and USDA share regulatory jurisdiction over cell-cultivated meats as detailed in a 2019 memorandum of understanding between the agencies. Following a voluntary pre-market consultation evaluating GOOD Meat’s production process, FDA issued GOOD Meat a “No Questions Letter.”

The next and final step in the regulatory review process before GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken can go to market in the United States is for the company to receive grants of inspection from the USDA for the firm’s plant in Alameda, California, and its contract manufacturing partner, JOINN Biologics in Richmond, California.

GOOD Meat had previously obtained regulatory approvals for its cell-cultivated chicken in Singapore.

On June 14, 2023, Upside Foods became the second company to receive regulatory approval from the USDA for its label on cell-cultivated chicken. In November 2022, FDA completed the first pre-market consultation for human food made from cultured animal cells for Upside Foods, which was the first company to receive a “No Question Letter” from FDA.

Keller and Heckman will continue to monitor and report on regulatory developments of cell-cultivated meat.