GOOD Meat Receives First-Ever USDA Label Approval for Cultivated Meat

ALAMEDA, CALIF. – GOOD Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just, Inc., announced today that it received the first-ever label approval for cultivated meat from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The June 8 clearance is an important milestone for the firm, which brings the company one step closer to commercial production and the sale of its cultivated chicken in the United States. Although GOOD Meat and most of the industry prefer the term “cultivated,” the initial label uses the term “cell-cultivated.”

The next and final step in the pre-market regulatory process is for GOOD Meat’s demonstration plant in Alameda, California, and its contract manufacturing partner, JOINN Biologics in Richmond, California, to receive grants of inspection from the USDA. In March, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued GOOD Meat a “no questions” letter indicating that the agency accepted the company’s conclusion that its chicken, which is made directly from cells instead of raised and slaughtered animals, is safe to eat.

“We’ve had several months of productive conversations with the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service and their District Office and appreciate their thoughtfulness throughout this regulatory process. Building on our previous cultivated meat industry firsts, this historic U.S. label approval is yet another step toward building a safer and more sustainable food system,” said Josh Tetrick, co-founder and CEO of GOOD Meat and Eat Just.

GOOD Meat won multiple 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.