Texas becomes the 7th US State to ban Cultivated Meat – while global approvals and consumer interest continue to grow

On June 25, Texas became the seventh US state to ban the sale of cultivated meat, following Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Indiana. The new law (Senate Bill 261), signed by Governor Abbot, will take effect on September 1, 2025, and remain in force for at least two years. It prohibits the manufacture, sale, and distribution of cell-cultured proteins for human consumption, with civil and criminal penalties for violations.

This latest state-level ban stands in notable contrast to growing regulatory momentum and consumer engagement worldwide:

✔ Over the past three months, the FDA approved Mission Barns’ cultured pork fat (March 2025) and Wildtype’s cultured salmon (May 2025), bringing the total number of FDA-approved cultivated meat products in the US to four. Wildtype’s salmon is already being served at Kann, an award-winning restaurant in Portland, Oregon.

✔ On June 18, Vow became the first company to receive approval for cultivated meat in Australia and New Zealand, and its cultivated quail (Forged brand) is set to appear on fine dining menus in Sydney and Melbourne soon.

✔ This week, the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) have launched a new Cell-cultivated Products Business Support Service designed to help companies that develop cell-cultivated food products to navigate the UK’s regulatory approval process.

💡On the consumer side, a new peer-reviewed study published in npj Science of Food evaluated public perceptions following a public tasting of Upside Foods’ cultivated chicken in Florida. The results showed that 58% of participants liked the taste. Importantly, nearly all attendees—regardless of political affiliation—opposed Florida’s cultivated meat ban, citing concerns about consumer choice and food freedom.

Earlier this month, members of the Vireo team participated in a consumer perception  (tasting) event with Clever Carnivore in Chicago, following our Cultured Meat Safety Initiative (CMSI) working session with New Harvest with a very high approval rating!

With several other US states are also considering similar bans, discussions about consumer freedom arise: If global regulators like the FDA and FSANZ have thoroughly reviewed a product and found it to be safe - after assessing every ingredient, the production process, and its similarity to conventional foods - some have suggested that consumers should be free to decide for themselves.

Legal challenges are already underway to challenge these bans, and industry groups, farmers, ranchers, and trade associations in states like Nebraska and Wyoming are pushing back; they cite concerns about free trade, regulatory overreach, and consumer rights.

We continue to track these developments closely. Maintaining product safety, scientific rigor, and industry innovation is essential to ensure consumers have safe, evidence-based food choices that align with their dietary and ethical preferences. These topics were further discussed at the first UK CMSI on ‘food-safe’ culture media held with Multus at Imperial College this week. More soon about this!