Edible cultured meat - US FDA certifies its safety for the first time

Recently CNN.co.jp reported the following:

食用の培養肉、米ＦＤＡが初の安全認定

2022.11.18 Fri posted at 15:54 JST

（ＣＮＮ） 米食品医薬品局（ＦＤＡ）が、人工的につくられた培養肉の安全性を初めて認可した。

安全性が認められたのは、米アップサイド・フーズが培養したニワトリの細胞から製造している培養肉。農務省による検査を経て、製品の販売が可能になる。

ＦＤＡは、同社から提出された情報を検証した結果、「安全性に関する同社の結論について、現時点でさらなる疑問はない」とした。

ＦＤＡの専門家は「細胞培養技術の進歩により、食品会社が家畜、家禽（かきん）、魚介類から採取した動物細胞を食品製造に利用することが可能になり、近い将来、そうした製品が米市場で流通する準備が整う見通しとなった」とコメントしている。

アップサイド・フーズ創業者のウマ・バレティ最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）はツイッターへの投稿で、ＦＤＡから「疑問なし」の通知が届いたと伝え、「当社の培養鶏肉は食べても安全だという結論が受け入れられた」と報告した。

バレティ氏は今年、ＣＮＮの取材に対し、培養肉の製造はビールの醸造と同じようなもので、酵母や微生物を育てる代わりに動物細胞を育てていると語っていた。

培養肉の販売を世界で初めて認めたのはシンガポールだった。２０２０年、米新興企業イート・ジャストの培養肉を同国で販売することが認められている。

培養肉をめぐっては、食用に動物を殺す必要がなくなり、気候変動対策にも役立つと期待する声もある。

今回ＦＤＡが安全性を認めたのはアップサイド製の培養鶏肉のみだが、同局は培養肉を開発している各社と連携する用意があるとコメントしている。

Translation

(CNN) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the safety of artificial cultured meat for the first time.

Meat produced from chicken cells cultured by Upside Foods was found to be safe. After inspection by the Ministry of Agriculture, the product could be sold.

After reviewing the information provided by the company, the FDA said, "There are no further questions at this time on the company's conclusions regarding safety."

FDA experts commented that “Advancements in cell culture technology have enabled food companies to use animal cells from livestock, poultry, and seafood in food production, and in the near future, it is expected that such products will be ready for distribution in the U.S. market.”

Upside Foods founder and CEO Uma Bharti said in a Twitter post that he had received a "no question" notice from the FDA, and reported that “it accepts the conclusion that our cultured chicken is safe to eat.”

Bharti told CNN earlier this year that making cultured meat was similar to brewing beer: instead of growing yeast or microbes, it grows animal cells.

Singapore was the first country in the world to allow the sale of cultured meat. In 2020, US startup Eat Just was allowed to sell cultured meat in that country.

About lab-grown meat, there were voices of hope that it could eliminate the need to kill animals for food and help combat climate change.

This time FDA only approved the safety of cultured chicken produced by Upside, but the agency had commented that they were prepared to work with companies developing cultured meat.

              So, meat produced from chicken cells cultured by Upside Foods is found to be safe and  can be sold in the US. Following Eat Just, Inc. this is another company that makes cultured meat. I hope the product can help combat climate change.

Note:

Eat Just, Inc. is a private company founded in 2011 with its headquarters in San Francisco, California. It develops and markets plant-based alternatives to conventionally produced egg products and cultivated meat products. In December 2020, its lab-grown chicken became the first cultured meat to receive regulatory approval in Singapore. Shortly thereafter, Eat Just's cultured meat was sold to diners in Singapore, making it the "world's first commercial sale of cell-cultured meat".