ALAMEDA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just, Inc., announced today that it has received a "no questions" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of one of the agency’s first pre-market consultations for a new kind of meat, poultry and seafood made from cells instead of raised and slaughtered animals. The letter means that following a careful and rigorous evaluation, the FDA has accepted the company’s conclusion that its first poultry product, cultivated chicken, is safe to eat.
This clears a crucial step in bringing GOOD Meat to restaurants and retail in the U.S. more than two years after its historic approval and launch in Singapore. The company is now working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on necessary approvals before world-renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés becomes the first in the country to offer GOOD Meat’s chicken to customers at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. Andrés is chef/owner of José Andrés Group, which operates more than 30 restaurants across the country.
“Since Singapore approved GOOD Meat for sale, we knew this moment was next. I am so proud to bring this new way of making meat to my country and to do it with a hero of mine, Chef José Andrés,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of GOOD Meat and Eat Just.
“The future of our planet depends on how we feed ourselves…and we have a responsibility to look beyond the horizon for smarter, sustainable ways to eat. GOOD Meat is doing just that, pushing the boundary on innovative new solutions, and I’m excited for everyone to taste the result,” said Andrés, a New York Times bestselling author, educator, television personality, and founder of World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit that uses the power of food to nourish communities and strengthen economies during times of crises. Andrés joined GOOD Meat’s Board of Directors in 2021 and has been a vocal proponent of leveraging innovation to build a better food system for people and the planet.
The United States joins Singapore as a global leader in creating a regulatory pathway to market for real, safe, high-quality meat produced directly from animal cells. It’s a pioneering process that, in partnership with the broader agricultural community, can help meet the growing global demand for safe, sustainable protein. Some analysts predict cultivated meat could become a $25 billion global industry by 2030.
Consistent, Scalable, Non-GMO & Antibiotic Free Process
Over the course of many months, GOOD Meat’s development, manufacturing, and regulatory teams prepared extensive documentation for the FDA detailing the safety and production process for its cultivated chicken. The company provided details on the identity, purity and stability of chicken cells used as well as a thorough description of its consistent, robust, and scalable process, which does not require antibiotics at any stage. The submission included an in-depth safety review of the media used to grow its non-genetically modified cells.
Safety and quality validations submitted by GOOD Meat demonstrated that harvested cultivated chicken met poultry microbiological and purity standards, with microbiological levels significantly cleaner than conventional chicken. The analysis also demonstrated that GOOD Meat's cultivated chicken contains high protein content, a well-balanced amino acid profile and is a rich source of minerals.
Improving Through Chef & Customer Feedback
GOOD Meat won several regulatory approvals for its chicken in Singapore in 2020, 2021, and 2023, and it remains the only cultivated meat producer in the world with the ability to sell to consumers. Since its launch, the company’s chicken has been featured on menus at fine dining establishments, popular hawker stalls, via the foodpanda delivery platform, and most recently by reservation at Huber’s Butchery, one of Singapore’s premier producers and suppliers of high-quality meats.
Thousands of dishes, ranging from crispy strips and curries to skewers and salads, have been sold in Singapore and have received universally high marks from diners. As the only company in the world with in-market consumer acceptance and safety data, GOOD Meat has been uniquely positioned to iterate on its chicken, improving the cooking experience for chefs and the sensorial experience for consumers.
According to consumer research conducted by a leading global management consulting firm on behalf of GOOD Meat, 70% of Singaporeans who tried GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken said it tasted as good or better than conventional chicken. Nearly 90% of those diners said they would substitute conventional chicken with cultivated chicken. Approximately 90% of restaurant operators said they would be open to selling cultivated meat, and most said they could envision cultivated meat replacing conventional meat on menus within a decade.
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Additional Statements
“For many years, I have advocated for innovative and equitable approaches by governments, civil society and the private sector to end hunger, reduce diet-related diseases and slow the effects of climate change. While I will always support family farmers’ efforts to feed the world, forward-thinking companies like GOOD Meat are tackling food security, nutrition and environmental stewardship in new and exciting ways. Receiving a ‘no questions’ letter from the FDA and a subsequent clearance from the USDA will allow GOOD Meat to scale up manufacturing and begin introducing its products to American consumers. Just as the United States has been a global leader in modernizing conventional food and agriculture techniques, it too can lead in the emerging alternative protein space. Today’s announcement is one such example.” – Dan Glickman, GOOD Meat Advisory Board member; former U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and member of the U.S. House of Representatives
“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, that protect our climate and global health, 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.” – Bruce Friedrich, president of The Good Food Institute
“Asia’s leading alternative protein think tank, we’re pleased to see that GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken—which has been enjoyed by thousands of diners in Singapore over the past few years—is now on track to expand to the US. Amid skyrocketing food demand and diminishing natural resources, it has never been more urgent to scale up manufacturing and distribution of alternative proteins on both sides of the Pacific. This week’s FDA greenlight opens the door to additional regulatory and scientific collaboration between two of the world’s leading innovation hubs and moves cultivated meat one step closer to becoming a truly global business.” – Mirte Gosker, managing director of The Good Food Institute APAC
"The FDA’s ‘no questions’ letter to GOOD Meat is another significant milestone and point of validation for the cell-cultured/cultivated meat, poultry, and seafood industry. GOOD Meat is among the visionary start-ups advancing the food sector with new methods of producing high-quality, safe products that will help to meet the growing demand for meat, poultry, and seafood through delicious, healthy, and sustainable food options. AMPS Innovation members continue to work closely with government agencies to create a safe, robust, and transparent pathway to market for cell-cultured/cultivated meat. This announcement provides additional evidence that the products developed by AMPS Innovation members will be among the safest, most tested, and well-regulated in the food industry.” – Robert Rankin, Executive Director, Association for Meat, Poultry & Seafood Innovation