Lab-grown meat has been approved for sale by the US government for the first time.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted approval for Upside Foods and Good Meat to produce and sell their lab-grown chicken products.
Upside Food is planning to debut its products at 3-Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn’s Bar Crenn in San Francisco, while Good Meat is teaming up with celebrity chef José Andrés at one of his Washington DC restaurants.
Both companies cultivate their meat by placing chicken cells in large steel vessels, where they are fed nutrients to help them multiply and grow.
Over the course of two to three weeks, the cells grow and develop and are ready to be harvested and ready to eat.
For the time being, lab-grown meat will be priced at a premium.
“Our aspirational goal at the moment is to beat the conventional prices... we're going to start out with premium pricing when we come into the market... that's because we are on a small scale,” said Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of Upside to Yahoo Finance.