GFI celebrates FDA’s second greenlight to a cultivated meat company in a matter of months

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a “no questions” letter to GOOD Meat as part of the agency’s pre-market review process. This decision comes just a few months after FDA’s historic move greenlighting UPSIDE Food’s cultivated chicken, the first cultivated meat product to achieve this milestone in the U.S. This is also the first time a cultivated meat product has received regulatory approval on multiple continents, as GOOD Meat has been serving their cultivated chicken to consumers in Singapore since December 2020. 

Reactions and insights from The Good Food Institute

GFI president Bruce Friedrich: “Today’s news is more than just another regulatory decision—it’s food system transformation in action. GOOD Meat has become the second cultivated meat company to receive the go-ahead from FDA for its cultivated chicken, bringing cultivated meat closer to becoming a real choice for American consumers. Consumers and future generations deserve the foods they love made more sustainably and in ways that benefit the public good—ways that preserve our land and water, ways that protect our climate and global health, and ways that allow for food security. Global demand for meat is projected to increase significantly by 2050. A few governments around the world are beginning to prioritize alternative proteins as a solution that accounts for this growing consumer demand while also achieving national climate and development goals, but far more need to follow suit.”   

GFI vice president of policy, Jessica Almy: “GFI celebrates the momentum we’ve seen from FDA over the last few months as they’ve given the greenlight to cultivated chicken from two innovative American companies. Consumers looking for ways to eat more sustainably will have more choices, and will soon be able to try the same delicious chicken that GOOD Meat has been serving in Singapore for the past two years without having to fly to another country. As governments around the world look for ways to address the climate and global health impacts of food production, clear and efficient regulatory review of cultivated meat is a significant step in the right direction.”

About the Good Food Institute 

The Good Food Institute is a nonprofit think tank working to make the global food system better for the planet, people, and animals. Alongside scientists, businesses, and policymakers, GFI’s teams focus on making plant-based and cultivated meat delicious, affordable, and accessible. Powered by philanthropy, GFI is an international network of organizations advancing alternative proteins as an essential solution needed to meet the world’s climate, global health, food security, and biodiversity goals.

Since its inception, GFI has been laying the groundwork for cultivated meat to be granted regulatory clearance and enter the U.S. market and markets around the world. GFI advocates for fair public policy and public research funding for alternative proteins globally, which creates the regulatory and scientific foundation for many different companies to flourish. GFI’s work with scientists, investor communities, policymakers, and companies across the supply chain, as well as its research grant program, is powered by a global community of donors.