Lab-grown salmon receives FDA approval

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Dive Brief:

• The FDA cleared San Francisco-based Wildtype to offer its lab-grown salmon in the U.S., the first time the agency signed off on a cultivated seafood product.
• Wildtype cleared its pre-market safety assessment, with the FDA saying in a “no questions” letter that the startup's cultivated fish is “as safe as comparable foods produced by other methods.”
• Wildtype is offering the salmon at a fine-dining restaurant in Portland, Oregon. The fish is produced by growing cells from living Pacific salmon. They are later harvested and combined with plant-based ingredients to mimic the appearance of conventional fish filets.

Dive Insight:

Wildtype is the fourth cultivated meat and seafood producer to receive FDA approval, representing an expansion of a nascent industry that's faced fierce backlash from farming and agricultural interests.

Nebraska and Mississippi banned the sale of lab-grown meat earlier this year, joining Florida and Alabama which passed their own restrictions in 2024. Indiana also approved a two-year ban on cell-cultured meat, and a number of other states are considering similar restrictions, according to the Council of State Governments Midwestern Office.

While opponents of cultivated meat argue the industry poses a competitive threat to ranchers, Wildtype and other advocates say the technology is meant to complement traditional agricultural interests by helping meet demand for animal protein amid significant land and water constraints.

The U.S. was home to 36 cultivated meat companies in 2024, the most of any country, according to a report from the Good Food Institute. Lab-grown meat and fish still aren’t sold in U.S. retail stores, and the industry overall faces a series of challenges including difficulty scaling amid a dreary fundraising environment.

Still, there's plenty of potential for lab-grown offerings, particularly as consumers express interest in cutting down on meat consumption without giving it up entirely. Flexitarians, or consumers who eat a primarily vegetarian diet but occasionally eat meat or fish, are estimated to make up as much as 15% of the U.S. population, the Food Institute said.

Working with traditional meat companies could be the best path to scaling the industry, GFI said. Meat giants, including Cargill and Tyson Foods, have invested in cultivated meat, while JBS is building a lab-grown meat facility in Brazil.

Wildtype plans to expand its cultivated salmon to four additional restaurants within the next four months and is searching for additional partners to help drive consumer awareness, according to a press release. Other cultivated meat makers have debuted at restaurants, though have since scaled back — Upside Foods' cultivated chicken was removed from menus at a San Francisco establishment following the end of a partnership.

As regulatory efforts on the state level pick up steam, more cultivated producers are speaking out. Wildtype has taken an active stance against state efforts to restrict cultivated meat sales, with the company's co-founders testifying against the Florida bill in 2024.

“We believe that through technology and innovation, we can address the fundamental challenge of our time: sustaining global health and quality of life without dooming our planet,” Wildtype said following the passage of the Florida bill. “Meaningful behavioral change – convincing enough people to use less energy or eat differently – takes longer than we can afford.”