GOOD Meat, Eat Just’s cultured meat division, receives ‘No Question’ letter from FDA
GOOD Meat, the cultured meat division of Josh Tetrick’s foodtech company Eat Just, Inc., has revealed it has received a “No Questions” letter from the FDA.
The letter is the first step in the agency’s first pre-market consultations for cultivated meat and fish. Following strict evaluation, the FDA has accepted GOOD Meat’s statement that its cultivated chicken – already on sale in Singapore – is safe for human consumption.
The start-up is now working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on necessary approvals before chef and restaurateur José Andrés, owner of José Andrés Group which boasts more than 30 restaurants in the US, becomes the first in the country to put GOOD Meat’s chicken on the menu at his Washington, D.C. eaterie. Andrés joined GOOD Meat’s Board of Directors in 2021 and is outspoken about food sustainability and security.
“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.
GOOD Meat is the first cultured meat start-up to be approved to sell its cultivated chicken in Singapore. Restaurant 1880 started selling it in 2020, with Huber’s Butcher following suit in 2022.
GOOD Meat is the third start-up working in the cellular agriculture field to receive a ‘No Question’ letter from the FDA. In February, Israeli company Remilk, which makes animal-free dairy protein through a yeast-based fermentation process, was also given the first stage of approval from the Food and Drug Administration, and in November Upside Foods became the first cultivated meat start-up to receive the letter from the FDA.
The FDA’s ‘No Question’ letters are signalling a move towards approving cultured meat and dairy for human consumption in the US.
This step has been met positively by many, including Seth Roberts, Policy Manager at the Good Food Institute Europe, who commented: “Cultivated meat has the potential to help satisfy growing global demand for meat, while reducing the environmental impacts of our food system, and this announcement demonstrates the race to put more sustainable food on our tables is gathering pace.
“Governments across Europe should be investing in climate solutions like cultivated meat – just as they’ve supported renewable energy – to ensure the benefits are felt here, and the continent is not left behind by other parts of the world.”
