Upside Foods, an American start-up that specializes in cultivating animal cells to produce meat without killing animals, has received the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its production methods.
A statement from the California-based company quoted its co-founder and general manager, Uma Valetti, as saying, “We launched Upside in a world full of skeptics, and today we are making a mark in history by becoming the first company to receive this letter from the FDA regarding lab-grown meat.”
The company still has to pass several hurdles before it can start selling its products, including inspections by the US Department of Agriculture, reports a local Arabic daily.
The FDA said in a statement that it had “rigorously” evaluated the data and information provided by the company regarding its methods and had “no additional questions at this point about its conclusions regarding food safety.” However, this measure is not classified as an approval procedure, according to the FDA.