FDA gives pre-market nod to human food made with cultured pork fat cells
Firm claims product will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, mitigate risks associated with disease outbreaks in livestock.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration has granted regulatory clearance for a new human food made with cultured pork fat cells. FDA said it has no questions at this time about firm Mission Barn’s production process and ruled the product is safe as comparable foods produced by other methods. Mission Barn uses belly fat cells from domestic Yorkshire pigs and grows the cells in a controlled environment to make cultured pork fat.
Before the cultured pork fat product can be marketed for use in food, it must also meet U.S. Department of Agriculture regulations.
Fiorella, a leading Italian restaurant group in the San Francisco, Cal., area, will be Mission Barns’ first restaurant partner. The company also plans to expand to retail with a national supermarket chain, becoming the first grocery store in the U.S. to sell cultivated meat.
Mission Barns said its flagship products, Italian Style Cultivated Meatballs and Applewood Smoked Cultivated Bacon, are made with cultivated pork fat and plant protein and require only a "single animal component – a harmless sample taken from a pig – which is grown using plant-based nutrients in a cultivator." The firm contends that "one sample could produce the same amount of meat as millions of farm animals, enabling the company to improve food security and create a world with fewer greenhouse gas emissions, reduced land and water usage and free from animal harm — all while mitigating risks associated with disease outbreaks in livestock."
FDA said it continues to support innovation in food technologies, resulting in more choices for consumers in the marketplace. However the agency’s priority continues to be the safety of food produced through both innovative and traditional methods.
Under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and implementing regulations, food products made with cultured pork fat cells that are under FDA’s jurisdiction must meet the same FDA requirements as similar food products made with conventional pork fat. The FDA requirements include facility registration, applicable safety requirements and accurate labeling.
In addition to the pre-market consultation, FDA said it has been on site at the firm’s facility where pork fat cells are cultured and grown. FDA currently plans on conducting another inspection after commercial production begins and will continue to exercise oversight of the facility as needed on an ongoing basis. This will help ensure that potential risks are being managed and that the food is safe and not adulterated. USDA and the FDA established a joint formal agreement that outlines the agencies’ shared oversight of food made with cultured animal cells.