US food tech startup Mission Barns has secured the USDA greenlight for its cultivated pork fat, paving the way for its launch into Sprouts and restaurant group Fiorella this quarter.
While states continue to ban cultivated meat, at the federal level, these proteins are having a milestone year.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has authorised the San Francisco pilot plant and product label for Mission Barns’ cultivated pork fat, three months after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a ‘no questions’ letter for the novel ingredient.
It means the startup has now completed the full regulatory pathway approval for cultivated meat in the US, enabling the launch of its first products into the market.
“The FDA oversees the safety of the cell culture process, while the USDA inspects and approves the production facility and labelling for meat products. Together, they confirm that our cultivated pork ingredient is safe, truthfully labelled, and legally cleared to be sold as food,” Cecilia Chang, chief business officer of Mission Barns, tells Green Queen.
“It’s a critical milestone that allows us to launch commercially in the US – and one that sets the foundation for regulatory confidence in other countries as well.”
The company’s cultivated fat is mixed with plant-based ingredients to form Italian-style meatballs and applewood-smoked bacon, which will debut at Bay Area restaurant Fiorella Sunset and Sprouts Farmers Market this quarter.
Pea protein for meatballs, wheat for bacon
Founded in 2018 by CEO Eitan Fischer, Mission Barns uses belly fat cells from American Yorkshire pigs and grows them in bioreactors to make its Mission Fat.
It is among a number of startups – including Hoxton Farms, Steakholder Foods, Genuine Taste, and Mosa Meat – opting to commercialise cell-cultured fats, which are a more viable way to bring cultivated meat to market in the medium term. Since fat is the primary flavour carrier, even a little bit goes a long way in replicating conventional meat.
“Our products are a blend of plant-based protein and a low inclusion rate of cultivated pork fat – typically in the single digits. Even at that level, the fat delivers a significant boost in flavour, juiciness, and mouthfeel that plant-based ingredients alone can’t replicate,” says Chang.
The startup uses pea protein for its meatballs and wheat protein for its bacon. “Other ingredients include familiar pantry staples like spices and herbs. The cultivated fat is what elevates the entire experience – it’s the functional and sensory bridge between conventional meat and plant-based alternatives,” she adds.
Such hybrid meats also offer a cost advantage, as cultured fat is a lot cheaper and faster to produce than lean meat. Chang describes it as a “low-inclusion, high-flavour ingredient that enables our partners to create cost-effective, delicious products with a fraction of the cultivated input”.
Mission Barns’s pork products are currently priced in line with premium meat, which reflects the “novelty and small-scale nature of cultivated production”. “But our long-term goal is price parity – and we’re taking a pragmatic, partner-driven path to get there,” she says.
At the heart of that strategy is its novel bioreactor technology, which marks a departure from the single-cell suspension tanks of the biopharma sector and enables more efficient, scalable, and cheaper production. This allows Mission Barns to serve a range of ingredient and co-development partners across the foodservice and CPG sectors.
“By working with food companies and manufacturers to integrate our fat into familiar formats, and scaling our proprietary bioreactor technology through strategic licensing, we can bring down costs across the value chain and make better meat more accessible, faster,” Chang notes.
When asked by Green Queen, Mission Barns declined to provide details about specific ingredients, prices, and nutritional facts at this time.
Cultivated pork to feature in pastas, polentas and Italian classics
Mission Barns will launch its hybrid bacon and meatballs at Fiorella Sunset in San Francisco in the coming weeks. “The team there has been incredibly collaborative in developing dishes that showcase our cultivated fat,” says Chang.
“While we can’t share the full menu just yet, you can expect comforting, familiar formats – think Italian classics like pastas and polenta – where the richness and flavour of real pork fat make a real difference.”
Meanwhile, select Sprouts locations will carry its meatballs, becoming the first supermarket in the US to sell cultivated meat. “We anticipate hitting shelves at Sprouts Farmers Market in Oakland in Q3. This rollout is designed to help us learn quickly from real consumer feedback and scale responsibly,” says Chang.
With the US approvals secured, the company is now speeding up its B2B efforts both domestically and internationally. “Cultivated fat is a powerful ingredient that enhances taste, texture, and functionality, whether it’s used in hybrid products or to upgrade plant-based formulations,” she reveals.
“Our go-to-market strategy is focused on working with our B2B partners across both traditional meat and plant-based sectors,” adds Chang. This is in line with the business models of several other cultivated meat producers, including Dutch firm Meatable.
“We’re also licensing our proprietary bioreactor technology and regulatory know-how to partners looking to produce cultivated meat themselves,” she says. “This includes companies that want to scale their own cultivated pork offerings or integrate our platform into their existing infrastructure. It’s not just about ingredient supply, it’s about enabling the broader industry to scale cultivated meat faster, together.”
Dual US approval will help international expansion
Upon launch, Mission Barns will be just the fourth company to sell cultivated meat in the US, following Eat Just‘s Good Meat, Upside Foods (both of which earned the USDA nod in 2023), and Wildtype, which received FDA approval for cultivated salmon in June (there’s no USDA review for this species).
Globally, a handful of startups have received regulatory nods. Good Meat has approval in Singapore, Aleph Farms in Israel, while Vow is cleared to sell in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. And in the UK, Meatly has commercialised cultivated chicken for pets.
Regulators in the EU, Switzerland, Australia and Thailand are evaluating applications too while the UK has created a designated regulatory sandbox, and judging from its inventory, the US FDA seems to have received at least four others. Which other markets is Mission Barns eyeing?
“Right now, our focus is on the US – it’s one of the largest meat markets in the world, and we’ve built strong momentum here with both FDA and USDA clearance,” says Chang. “That said, we’re working closely with our B2B partners to identify high-priority markets for near-term launches – particularly regions that recognise or align with the US regulatory process, such as Singapore and parts of Asia.
“These regions are either already open to cultivated meat or actively shaping their frameworks, and our dual-agency approval puts us in a strong position to enter with credibility and speed when the time is right.”
Mission Barns gears up for fundraising
Mission Barns’s regulatory success comes amid widespread funding and political challenges for cultivated meat. After VCs invested $1.3B into the category in 2021, capital has diminished dramatically. In 2023, funding fell by 75%, followed by another 40% drop in 2024, reaching just $137M. It has forced some cultivated meat startups to shut down, and others to make cutbacks.
The trend has continued this year, with this segment attracting just $35M in Q1 2025 (most of which came from Aleph Farms’s $29M raise).
Mission Barns itself has raised over $60M to date, and the startup remains confident in the sector’s investment fortunes. “While the broader food tech sector has tightened, we’re seeing renewed investor interest in companies with real traction and a clear path to market,” says Chang.
“Our capital-light B2B model, proprietary bioreactor platform, and focus on low-inclusion cultivated fat as a flavouring ingredient make Mission Barns a uniquely de-risked and scalable entry point into cultivated meat,” she adds.
“Following our recent regulatory milestones, we’re preparing for our next fundraising round to support commercial scale-up, strategic licensing, and global expansion.”
Meanwhile, seven states have now banned cultivated meat in the US, while several have put restrictions on how they can be labelled. Others are looking to make similar moves. At the same time, however, health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced his Make American Biotech Accelerate vision, part of which is a promise to “dismantle the barriers” to biotech development and approvals.
“Not everyone has to love or eat cultivated meat – but in a free market, everyone should have the right to choose it, especially after it’s been rigorously reviewed and approved by federal regulators,” Chang says, suggesting that the state-level restrictions are “not grounded in science or safety concerns”.
“Our products are legally classified as meat, and efforts to block or mislabel them only create confusion, suppress innovation, and limit access to safer, more sustainable options. We’re committed to working within the legal system to defend truth in labelling, scientific integrity, and the fundamental right of consumers to decide what’s on their plate.”
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