International

California lab-grown meat start-up gets first green light

Illustrative image

| By AFP |

A California-based lab-grown meat start-up received the first green light for such products from the US food safety agency on Wednesday, although the product still has more hurdles to clear before being sold to consumers.

The US Food and Drug Administration said it carried out a “careful evaluation” of Upside Foods’ cultivated chicken, including data and information provided by the company, and had “no further questions at this time,” signaling a go-ahead for the firm.

“We started UPSIDE amid a world full of skeptics, and today, we’ve made history again as the first company to receive a ‘No Questions’ letter from the FDA for cultivated meat,” founder and CEO Uma Valeti said in a press release.

The FDA specified that the evaluation did not constitute “an approval process.”

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Upside Foods will still have to undergo inspection by the US Department of Agriculture, for example, before it can sell its products.

That said, this “is a watershed moment in the history of food,” Valeti said.

Several start-ups are aiming to produce so-called lab-grown meat, which would allow humans to consume animal protein without harming the environment through farming and without any animal suffering.

These products differ from plant-based substitutes such as soy burgers that mimic the texture and flavor of meat but do not contain any animal protein.

The start-up Eat Just, a competitor of Upside Foods, was the first to receive authorization to make artificial meat, in Singapore in 2020.

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While succeeding in the general lab-meat market has proven complicated and expensive, some companies have set their sights on petfood, whose consumers are much less picky.

Bond Pet Foods, a Colorado start-up, is creating animal protein from a microbial fermentation process to feed dogs.

Related Topics:California Environment food us

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Spain’s irregular migrant population rises to 840,000, study finds

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An estimated 17.2% of the non-EU foreign population living in Spain is in an irregular administrative situation. The estimate is based on the gap between the number of foreign residents effectively living in Spain, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE), and those who hold a residence permit, benefit from international protection, or are in the process of obtaining it.

The data, as of January 1, 2025, point to a notable and sustained increase in irregular migration since 2017, when the estimated figure stood at around 107,000 people, representing 4.2% of the non-EU population residing in Spain.

By origin, migrants from the American continent stand out, totaling around 760,000 people, or 91% of all irregular migrants. Colombians account for nearly 290,000, followed by Peruvians with almost 110,000, and Hondurans with about 90,000. Migrants from Africa (50,000), Asia (15,000) and Europe (14,000) trail far behind.

The figures predate Spain’s latest immigration regulation reform, which came into force in May 2025 and introduces measures to ease access to legal status through residency ties. According to Funcas, the reform would, in principle, tend to reduce the number of migrants in an irregular situation.

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Historic snowstorm paralyzes Toronto after 60 centimeters of snow

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Late Sunday, as the scale of the snowfall became clear, city officials declared a climate emergency, triggering extraordinary measures including parking bans on several major streets to facilitate snow removal operations.

Toronto’s public transit authority reported that while some buses remain immobilized, subway and streetcar services are operating with relative normality, though localized disruptions may occur.

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Venezuela frees at least 80 political prisoners, NGO says

At least 80 political prisoners were released on Sunday across Venezuela, human rights group Foro Penal reported, as the broader process of detainee releases continues at a slow pace under the interim government.

Foro Penal’s director, Alfredo Romero, wrote on social media platform X that verified releases took place nationwide and that the figure could rise as more confirmations are completed.

Attorney Gonzalo Himiob, also from Foro Penal, said the excarcelations occurred during the early hours of the day and emphasized that the number is not yet final pending further verification.

The releases are part of a series of steps announced by Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation on Jan. 3, 2026. Rodríguez has pledged a significant number of liberations but has been criticized by opposition groups and rights organizations for the slow and nontransparent nature of the process.

So far, the Venezuelan government reports that 626 detainees have been freed since December, though independent counts by human rights groups suggest the number of actual political prisoner releases is lower and that many remain behind bars.

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Families of those still detained have maintained vigils outside prisons, hopeful for further releases even as broader concerns about political imprisonment and due process persist.