There are already pure “viandars”, flexitarians, vegetarians, vegans… Soon, we may have to invent another term to designate those who eat artificially produced meat.

Pure science fiction fantasy?

Not at all, since the American start-up Upside Foods, which cultivates animal cells to produce meat without killing animals, received a green light on Wednesday for its manufacturing methods from the agency in charge of Food Safety in the United States (FDA).

“We launched Upside into a world full of skeptics and today we are making history again by becoming the first company to receive this letter from the FDA for lab-grown meat,” said Uma Valeti, the co-founder and managing director, quoted in a press release from the Californian company.

Far from vegetarian "steaks"

"This is a major step towards a new era in meat production and I am excited that American consumers may soon have the chance to eat delicious meat produced directly from animal cells," he said. -he adds.

In practice, Upside Foods still has many hurdles to clear, including inspections from the US Department of Agriculture, before it can sell its products.

The FDA has "carefully" evaluated the data and information provided by the company on its methods and has "no additional questions at this stage about its conclusions in terms of safety", indicated the authority in its own press release. .

But "this consultation does not constitute an approval process", specifies the agency.



Several start-ups aim to produce and market so-called “laboratory” or artificial meat, to allow humans to consume animal protein with less impact on the environment than that of intensive farming, and without animal suffering.

These products differ from plant-based substitutes, such as soy-based “steaks” and other ingredients that mimic the texture and flavor of meat, but contain no animal protein.

The start-up Eat Just, a competitor of Upside Foods, was the first to receive authorization to market artificial meat in Singapore in 2020. Last May, it signed an agreement with a manufacturer of equipment to develop giant vats where it hopes to produce chicken and beef on a large scale.

Planet

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