Mission Barns has received a "No Questions" letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its cultivated pork fat, marking a significant milestone as the first company worldwide to receive regulatory clearance for this specific product. The approval indicates that the FDA has completed a thorough evaluation of Mission Barns' safety assessment and is satisfied that the product is "as safe as comparable foods."
The Berkeley-based company becomes the third firm to secure U.S. regulatory approval to sell cultivated animal cells for human consumption, following UPSIDE Foods and GOOD Meat. This development comes at a critical time for the cultivated meat industry, which has experienced a sharp decline in funding and investor interest over the past two years.
Market Launch Plans
Following the regulatory approval, Mission Barns has announced partnerships for its initial product launch. Fiorella, a prominent Italian restaurant group in the San Francisco area, will begin serving the company's cultivated bacon and meatballs. Additionally, Sprouts Farmers Market will become the first U.S. grocery retailer to stock Mission Barns' products, making these locations the first in the world to offer cultivated pork products.
"From the ability to source some of my favorite local ingredients to the prices on our menus, the vulnerability of our global food supply chain impacts every aspect of my business," said Brandon Gillis, co-founder at Fiorella. "I've been keeping tabs on the cultivated meat industry as a potential solution, and after meeting with Mission Barns and tasting its products, I wanted to make sure we created a partnership for this historic moment."
The company is currently in the "final stages" of securing approval from the USDA, which includes obtaining a grant of inspection for its pilot plant and approved product labeling. This additional regulatory clearance is required before the products can officially launch in the U.S. market.
Product Portfolio and Technology
Founded in 2018, Mission Barns has developed two flagship products: Italian Style Cultivated Meatballs and Applewood Smoked Cultivated Bacon. Both products combine cultivated pork fat with plant-based proteins, representing a hybrid approach that leverages the sensory qualities of animal fat while reducing the complexity of growing complete muscle tissue.
The company utilizes a proprietary bioreactor technology that it claims can dramatically improve the efficiency of the production process. According to Eitan Fischer, founder of Mission Barns, their approach focuses on fat production rather than muscle tissue because "fat grows a lot faster, can be grown with cheaper inputs, and even a small amount can make a very big difference in the sensory profile of the product."
According to the FDA's scientific memo, Mission Barns' process involves passaging cells isolated from subcutaneous belly fat biopsied from a domestic Yorkshire pig. The cells are selected for specific characteristics, including the ability to grow in serum-free medium, exhibit stable growth, acquire characteristics of fat cells, and grow on solid substrates. The harvested material, after washing, is reported to be similar in fatty acid content to conventional pork fat products, with no detectable trans fats.
Industry Context and Business Strategy
The approval comes at a challenging time for the cultivated meat sector. Funding for the industry peaked at $989 million in 2021, declined to $807 million in 2022, and then plummeted to just $177 million in 2023. In 2024, only two notable funding rounds have occurred: Mosa Meat's $43 million raise in April and Ever After Foods' $10 million raise in June.
"This is the first approval in the cultivated meat space in a while," noted Fischer, acknowledging the industry's financial struggles. "Our hope is that it generates new momentum, not just for us, but for the entire industry."
Mission Barns has raised over $60 million to date and is now initiating a new funding round. The company's business model involves both direct production and partnerships with other manufacturers. Fischer explained: "The goal is to scale up our own production, but even more so, to have our partners scale up in parallel. We would like to build a large-scale facility. But in the meantime, at the intermediate scale, there are partners with whom we can work to take our bioreactor technology, partner with them, set that up in a partner facility, and run in a way that requires a lot lower capex investment."
Market Potential and Consumer Adoption
Fischer believes there is significant untapped market potential for products that combine plant-based proteins with cultivated animal fat. While some plant-based brands may hesitate to compromise their credentials by including animal-derived components, Mission Barns is already in discussions with various potential partners, including large meat companies and leading plant-based brands in the U.S. and Asia.
"We have the sustainability benefits, the [lower] water and land use, the lack of antibiotic use, and the deliciousness people expect from bacon or meatballs. We think there's a very large untapped market here," Fischer stated.
The company's approach addresses a key challenge in the alternative protein market: creating products that satisfy consumers who are unwilling to compromise on taste but are interested in more sustainable and humane food options. By focusing on fat production rather than complete muscle tissue, Mission Barns may have found a more economically viable path to market for cultivated meat technology.
Regulatory Framework
In the United States, cultivated meat and poultry are regulated under a joint framework between the FDA and USDA. The FDA oversees cell collection, cell banks, and cell growth and differentiation, while the USDA handles the production and labeling of food products from the harvested cells.
Mission Barns' FDA approval represents a significant step forward, but the company must still complete the USDA approval process before its products can be commercially sold. This dual regulatory approach has been a consistent pathway for cultivated meat products in the U.S. market.
As Mission Barns prepares for its market debut, the industry will be watching closely to see if this approval and launch can help revitalize investor interest and consumer acceptance of cultivated meat products. The company's "fat-first approach" may offer a more practical near-term solution for bringing cultivated meat technology to market while the industry continues to work on the more complex challenge of growing complete muscle tissues at competitive costs.
