American consumers are now closer to being able to purchase chicken grown from animal cells otherwise known as lab-grown meat.  

According to a CNN report, Good Meat, the developer of such a chicken product, announced that it has received a so-called “no questions” letter from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). That letter states that the administration is satisfied that the product is safe to sell in the United States. The FDA issued a similar letter to another company that makes meat from cultured chicken cells, last year.

However, the report states that shoppers will have to wait on the green light from the US Department of Agriculture in order for the meat to be sold and purchased.

The FDA’s letter “clears a crucial step in bringing Good Meat to restaurants and retail in the US,” Good Meat said in a statement Tuesday, adding that it “is now working with the US Department of Agriculture on necessary approvals.” 

Good Meat advertises its product as “meat without slaughter,” a more humane approach to eating meat. Supporters hope that cultured meat will help fight climate change by reducing the need for traditional animal agriculture, which emits greenhouse gases. Cultivated or lab-grown meat is grown in a vat much like what you’d find at a beer brewery.

“We’ve been selling chicken without slaughter for over two years now in Singapore, and it’s pretty cool that we’ll be able to make it happen here at home in the United States,” Josh Tetrick, CEO of Good Meat and Eat Just, said in a statement sent to CNN.

Good Meat’s cell-based chicken was approved for sale in Singapore in 2020, and has since been available for purchase in restaurants in that country.