Upside Foods, formerly Memphis Meats, announced the completion of its Engineering, Production, and Innovation Center (EPIC). The 53,000-sq.-ft. building in Emeryville, Calif., will enable the company to produce any species of meat, poultry, and seafood—in both ground and whole cut formats—from animal cells rather than slaughtering.
The building "contains custom-made, patented cultivators [that] can produce over 50,000 pounds of finished product, with a future capacity of over 400,000 pounds per year." It will enable the development of product formats, types of meat and production processes; its quality assurance facilities will test products for safety and quality. Eventually, it will employ 50.
EPIC has areas to mill and mix the cell feed and to formulate, package and test products, a modern kitchen for tastings and office and conference spaces. And like all meat and poultry facilities in the U.S., it includes an office for federal inspectors to oversee the process.
Earlier this year, the company rebranded from Memphis Meats to Upside Foods and promised cultured chicken by the end of this year; announced investment from John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods; and signed a partnership with three-Michelin Star chef Dominique Crenn. Recent hires include a COO (Amy Chen) and Executive Vice President of Technology (Dr. Bob Kiss).
