For the first time, US regulators approved the sale of chicken made from animal cells

Tags: Science and Technology International News

The US regulators on 21st June have granted approval for the sale of chicken made from animal cells, making it the first time such products will be available to consumers. 

An overview of the news

• Two California-based companies, Upside Foods and Good Meat, have received the green light from the Department of Agriculture to offer "cell-cultured" meat, which is produced in laboratories rather than derived from slaughtered animals.

Benefits of Cultivated Meat

• The approval of lab-grown meat marks a new era in meat production aimed at addressing concerns related to animal welfare and environmental impact. 

• This has the potential to significantly reduce animal harm and environmental degradation.

Federal Inspections and Safety

• Both Upside Foods and Good Meat have obtained the approvals for federal inspections required to sell meat and poultry in the US. 

• Prior to this, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had declared the products from these companies as safe for consumption. 

• Joinn Biologics, a manufacturing company associated with Good Meat, has also been cleared to produce the cultured meat products.

Process of Lab grown meat

• Cultivated meat is grown in steel tanks using cells derived from living animals, fertilized eggs, or stored cell banks. 

• Upside Foods produces large sheets of meat that are then shaped into chicken cutlets and sausages. 

• Good Meat, which already sells cultivated meat in Singapore, creates various products such as cutlets, nuggets, shredded meat, and satays from chicken cells.

• The production of cultured meat begins with the selection of cells from live animals or commercially available cell lines.

• These cells are combined with a nutrient-rich mixture in a cultivator, where they grow rapidly.