A recent article on Upside Foods by staff writers at Bloomberg Business Week noted that the company is absolutely failing to deliver on previously promised volume. Their existing plant was supposed to produce 50,000 lb. of product annually presuming the use of bioreactors. Since Upside Foods has not been able to effectively apply large-scale technology, it has no business in proceeding with a far larger factory. The company has raised in excess of $600 million in venture capital, has obtained U.S. Food and Drug Administration and USDA approval but can only produce one pound of faux chicken per month.
In response to the critical article, Upside Foods admitted to “realities and complexities of doing something that has never been done before”. The situation with Upside Foods and the debacle at Just Eats should intensify scrutiny of start-ups and established companies intending to produce cell cultured meat. Output of the various forms of beef, chicken and seafood has not apparently progressed beyond pilot plant and roller-bottle production. The concept of “faking it ‘til you make it” with a whiff of Theranos appears to be wearing thin with VC companies closing their collective purses.
The rush by states producing meat to impose label restrictions on cell-cultivated product appears to be premature and in the long run, unnecessary.