History Made: UPSIDE Foods Is Approved to Sell Cultivated Meat in the U.S. Following Completion of Final USDA Regulatory Step

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Jun 21, 2023, 11:42 ET

UPSIDE Foods makes history after completing the final step in the U.S. pre-market regulatory review process for cultivated meat by obtaining a Grant of Inspection from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its cultivated chicken. This follows UPSIDE's label approval earlier this month.
UPSIDE's cultivated chicken will be launched at Bar Crenn in San Francisco through a partnership with three-Michelin-star chef Dominique Crenn. Consumers can visit UPSIDE's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts for details on how to be among the first in the United States to try UPSIDE's cultivated chicken.
Following this historic regulatory approval, UPSIDE has already taken its first restaurant order of its cultivated chicken, placed by Bar Crenn, as well as another special order, details of which will be shared later.
Because cultivated chicken is meat made from real animal cells, UPSIDE Foods is subject to similar standards as other meat and poultry products in the U.S.

BERKELEY, Calif., June 21, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UPSIDE Foods, the leading cultivated meat, poultry and seafood company, announced today that it has completed the pre-market regulatory review process for its cultivated chicken after obtaining a Grant of Inspection (GOI) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). This follows its announcement earlier this month that its label has been approved by USDA. With this approval, UPSIDE Foods can now start commercial production and sales of its cultivated chicken, taking a historic step towards building a more humane, sustainable, and resilient food system.

In November 2022, UPSIDE Foods became the first company in the world to receive the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s green light for cultivated meat. The GOI and label approval from USDA means that UPSIDE Foods has demonstrated compliance with USDA regulations for food safety and labeling of poultry products. Since cultivated chicken is grown directly from real chicken cells, the company is subject to similar rigorous inspections and food safety standards as conventionally-produced poultry. Having obtained full regulatory clearance in the U.S. for its cultivated chicken, UPSIDE Foods can now begin commercial production at its Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC). UPSIDE will make its market debut with a whole-textured chicken product that is over 99% cultivated chicken cells.

"I'm thrilled to share that cultivated meat will now be available for consumers in the U.S.," said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Founder of UPSIDE Foods. "This approval will fundamentally change how meat makes it to our table. It's a giant step forward towards a more sustainable future - one that preserves choice and life. We are excited to launch with our signature, whole-textured UPSIDE chicken and can't wait for consumers to taste the future."

Following this regulatory approval, UPSIDE processed the first order of its cultivated chicken, placed by three-Michelin-star Chef Dominique Crenn. UPSIDE's cultivated chicken will be launched in the U.S. in limited quantities through select restaurant partners, starting with Chef Crenn's restaurant Bar Crenn in San Francisco.

UPSIDE also announced a contest where consumers can enter for a chance to be among the first in the United States to eat UPSIDE's cultivated chicken. Consumers can visit UPSIDE's Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts to enter.

"We at UPSIDE Foods have long championed the dual regulatory jurisdiction of FDA and USDA, starting with a historic partnership with the North American Meat Institute in 2018. Since then, our team has been working diligently with both agencies to bring our cultivated chicken to market," said Eric Schulze, PhD, VP of Global and Scientific Affairs at UPSIDE Foods. "We are grateful for the FDA's and USDA's thoughtful and rigorous review processes, which have enabled us to start bringing safe, delicious, and high-quality cultivated meat products to market in the U.S."

This announcement comes after a series of milestones as UPSIDE Foods approaches commercialization, including receiving the world's first "green light" for cultivated meat from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a $400M Series C placing the company's valuation at over $1 billion, and the expansion of its product portfolio to include ground cultivated meat products. In addition, UPSIDE will continue its work with FDA and USDA to bring its next consumer products to market, including sausages, nuggets, and dumplings.

About UPSIDE Foods
Based in Berkeley, CA, UPSIDE Foods grows meat, poultry and seafood directly from animal cells. These products are not vegan or vegetarian—they are delicious meat, made without the need to raise and slaughter billions of animals. Founded as the world's first cultivated meat company in 2015, UPSIDE Foods has achieved numerous industry-defining milestones, including being the first company to produce multiple species of meat (beef, chicken and duck), and to receive a "green light" from FDA for a cultivated meat product. The company believes that people shouldn't have to choose between the foods they love and a thriving planet, and is working to build a better food system with access to delicious, humane, and sustainable meat, poultry, and seafood. UPSIDE Foods has won various industry awards, including New York Times' Good Tech Awards, FastCo's Next Big Thing in Tech, and the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For in the Nation by the National Association for Business Resources. UPSIDE Foods has raised a total of $608 million, including from the Abu Dhabi Growth Fund (ADG), Baillie Gifford, Bill Gates, Cargill, Future Ventures, John Doerr, John Mackey, Kimbal and Christiana Musk, Norwest, Richard Branson, Softbank, Temasek, Threshold, Tyson Foods, and others. For more information, please visit www.upsidefoods.com.

Media Contact
Brooke Whitney
media@upsidefoods.com

SOURCE UPSIDE Foods