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Lab-grown meat received its first FDA approval in the United States in November 2022, marking the first time the agency deemed cultured animal cell products safe for human consumption. The FDA issued a "no questions" letter to Upside Foods regarding its cultured chicken, confirming the product's safety. While FDA approval cleared the path for production, commercial sales required additional regulatory steps. In June 2023, the USDA granted final approval, including label approval and a grant of inspection, to two companies: Upside Foods and Good Meat (a division of Eat Just). These approvals allowed the companies to begin selling cell-cultivated chicken in the U.S., initially at select restaurants like Bar Crenn in San Francisco and China Chilcano in Washington, D.C. As of 2026, the industry has continued to expand, with additional companies like Believer Meats gaining FDA approval for their cultured products. However, widespread availability in grocery stores remains limited due to high production costs and scaling challenges, with current offerings primarily found in exclusive dining establishments. Lab-Grown Meat Approved for Sale: What You Need to KnowCultured meat, grown from real animal cells, will soon be available in restaurants in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.At long last, a sandwich made with lab-grown chicken may be on the menu—at least if you live in the U.S. Last week the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted its first-ever approval of cell-cultured meat produced by two companies, GOOD Meat and UPSIDE Foods. Both grow small amounts of chicken cells into slabs of meat—no slaughter required. It was the final regulatory thumbs-up that the California-based companies needed in order to sell and serve their products in the U.S.The approval comes less than a year after the Food and Drug Administration declared the companies’ products safe to eat, and it represents a major milestone for the burgeoning cultured meat industry. But it doesn’t mean lab-grown steaks will be hitting supermarket shelves tomorrow. For now, both companies have been given the go-ahead to sell strictly chicken products at a select handful of restaurants. They’ll need additional approval to market cell-cultivated beef, pork or seafood.Around 90 percent of the U.S. population eats meat regularly. But a growing number of Americans harbor concerns about the current meat industry’s environmental impact, which accounts for about 14.5 percent of global carbon emissions. Massive livestock operations can also be breeding grounds for harmful antibiotic-resistant bacteria. What’s more, they generate tons of waste and can pollute local waterways with nutrient runoff from manure. And the animals themselves often live relatively short lives, confined to cramped cages and standing in their own filth. “We think the current way of producing meat is at the very tip of the spear of all these harms,” says GOOD Meat CEO Josh Tetrick.Still, people are drawn to eating meat for a variety of reasons, such as cultural significance and tradition or its nutritional value as a protein source—not to mention its taste. Cultured meat companies, which bill themselves as sustainable and cruelty-free, hope their products will offer a way for meat lovers to enjoy a juicy burger or fried chicken with a clean conscience. “I put myself in that category,” says Amy Chen, COO of UPSIDE Foods. “We call ourselves ‘conflicted carnivores.’”A lab-grown chicken nugget starts the classic way: with an egg. Food scientists sample stem cells from a fertilized chicken egg and then test the cells for resilience, taste, and the ability to divide and create more cells. Next the scientists can freeze the best cell lines for future use.https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/lab-grown-meat-approved-for-sale-what-you-need-to-know/