Good Meat, the cultivated meat division of food technology company Eat Just, Inc., revealed today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued one of its first pre-market consultations for a kind of meat, poultry and seafood produced from cells rather than reared and slaughtered animals in the form of a "no questions" letter. This indicates that following an intensive examination, the FDA has recognized the safety of Good Meat's initial poultry product, cultivated chicken, for consumption.
This marks a significant advance towards bringing GOOD Meat to U.S. restaurants and retail, two years after its launch in Singapore. The company is currently working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to gain the required authorizations before renowned chef and humanitarian José Andrés becomes first in America to offer GOOD Meat's chicken on his restaurant menu in Washington, D.C. Andrés heads up the José Andrés Group which runs over 30 eateries across the country.
“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, who has been a vocal proponent of leveraging innovation to build a better food system for people and planet since he joined GOOD Meat's Board of Directors in 2021.
As a global leader in creating a regulatory pathway to market for real, safe, high-quality meat produced directly from animal cells, the United States joins Singapore. With the support of the wider agricultural community, this pioneering process can help meet the growing demand for safe, sustainable protein worldwide. The global market for cultivated meat is expected to grow to $25 billion by 2030, according to some analysts.
Feedback from Chefs & Customers
In 2020, 2021, and 2023, GOOD Meat won several regulatory approvals for its chicken in Singapore, making it the only cultivated meat manufacturer in the world that can sell to consumers. As a result of the company's launch, its 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 leading meat suppliers.
A recent study conducted by a world-renowned management consulting firm on behalf of GOOD Meat, revealed that 70% of Singaporeans who sampled their cultivated chicken thought it was as delicious - or even more so - than traditional poultry. Additionally, almost 90% stated they would swap conventional chicken for the alternative. Furthermore, nearly all restaurant operators said they were onboard with selling cultivated meat and envisaged it overtaking normal meat within 10 years.