Updated October 18, 2026
Parents have asked whether cultivated meat, often called lab-grown or cell-cultivated meat, could end up on a school lunch tray or in a baby's food. Here is what we found as of October 2026, what the rules say, and what is still unknown.
Please note: This article is general information, not medical or nutrition advice. For questions about your child's diet, talk to your pediatrician. Laws change often, so check the linked sources for the latest.
Real Meat Directory uses "real meat" as its own shorthand for meat from raised or harvested animals. Cultivated products are grown from real animal cells, but they fall outside the directory by our definition. That is a choice about the directory's scope, not a judgment about the products.
The short answer
- School meals: We found no evidence that cultivated meat is served in U.S. school meals. Very little cultivated meat has been sold in the U.S. at all: CSG Midwest, a nonpartisan group of state legislators, reported that as of April 2026 lab-grown meats were not being produced for sale in the U.S.
- Baby food and infant formula: We found no cultivated-meat baby food or infant formula approved or on sale in the U.S. None of the five cultivated products that have completed FDA's safety consultation is an infant product.
- What's unknown: We found no USDA guidance on whether cultivated meat could be used in school meals, and no FDA statement specific to cultivated meat in infant foods.
School meals: how the rules work
The National School Lunch Program, run by USDA's Food and Nutrition Service, is a federally assisted program in public and nonprofit private schools. Meals must meet federal nutrition standards. Through USDA Foods in Schools, USDA also buys American-grown and -produced foods for participating schools. Schools and districts also buy food on their own, within federal and state rules.
Cultivated meat and poultry for people must go through an FDA safety consultation and USDA inspection before it can be sold. (See our article on cell-cultivated labels.) When Senator Mike Rounds introduced a school-lunch bill in January 2024, his office said USDA had not issued any guidance on cultivated meat in school lunch or breakfast. We found no such guidance as of October 2026.
Federal bills
- School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024 (S. 3674). Introduced by Senators Mike Rounds and Jon Tester, it would have barred cell-cultivated meat from meals in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It was referred to committee and did not become law before that Congress ended.
- REAL Meat Act of 2025 (H.R. 1116). It would bar federal funds from supporting cell-cultured meat. As of our check, it had been referred to a House subcommittee and had not passed.
We found no federal law, as of October 2026, that specifically bans cultivated meat in school meals.
State laws on schools
- Iowa (2024): The state Department of Education and school boards must set policies to prevent buying cultivated-protein food products, as well as products misbranded as meat.
- Ohio (signed December 2025): School districts must adopt a policy to prevent buying cultivated-protein food products. CSG Midwest reports the law also covers colleges and includes a provision related to products USDA approves for purchase for benefit programs.
- Wisconsin (vetoed 2026): A bill that would have barred serving cell-cultured meat to students, with limited exceptions, was vetoed by the governor in March 2026.
- North Carolina and Tennessee (proposed 2025): Bills would have barred public schools from buying or serving cell-cultured food. We found no record that either school provision became law.
Separately, several states ban or pause the sale of cultivated meat in general. See the full state table on our Meat Laws page. Other states may have rules we didn't find, so check with your state's education or agriculture department.
Baby food and infant formula
- Infant formula: FDA does not approve infant formulas, but makers must notify FDA before selling a new formula, and every ingredient must be an approved food additive or "generally recognized as safe" and suitable for infants. FDA also inspects formula plants every year.
- Cultivated products so far: FDA's list of completed safety consultations includes cultivated chicken, salmon and pork fat, none of them meant for infants. FDA says its consultation is not an approval, and cultivated meat or poultry also needs USDA inspection before sale.
- What we found: No cultivated-meat baby food or formula on the U.S. market as of October 2026, and we found no announced plans to make one.
How parents can check
- School menus: Ask your school's nutrition department where its meat comes from. Many districts post menus and product information.
- Labels: Federal rules require USDA to approve every label for cultivated meat and poultry before use, and many states require terms such as "cell-cultivated" or "lab-grown." Read the product name and ingredient list.
- Your pediatrician: Ask before introducing new foods to a baby or young child.
The bottom line
As of October 2026, we found no cultivated meat in U.S. school meals, baby food or infant formula. Two states, Iowa and Ohio, require schools to prevent buying it, and several states ban its sale outright. No federal school-meal ban has passed. We will update this page if that changes.
Sources
- CSG Midwest: Cell-cultured meat remains focus of new laws and legislation across the Midwest (updated May 4, 2026)
- FDA: Human Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells Inventory (updated February 2026)
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: National School Lunch Program
- USDA Food and Nutrition Service: USDA Foods in Schools
- Office of Sen. Mike Rounds: press release on the School Lunch Integrity Act (January 26, 2024)
- Congress.gov: S. 3674 (118th Congress), School Lunch Integrity Act of 2024, bill text
- Congress.gov: H.R. 1116 (119th Congress), REAL Meat Act of 2025
- Iowa Code § 283A.12: Purchases, meat products (2024 Acts, ch. 1158)
- Ohio Revised Code § 3313.8110: Misbranded meat and cultivated-protein food product purchase prevention policy
- UNC School of Government Legislative Reporting Service: Bill summaries for N.C. H 135 (2025-2026)
- Tennessee General Assembly: SB 148 (114th General Assembly), bill information
- National Agricultural Law Center: Alternative Protein Laws State Compilation
- FDA: Infant Formula
- FDA Constituent Update: FDA Completes Second Pre-Market Consultation for Human Food Made Using Animal Cell Culture Technology (March 21, 2023)
- USDA FSIS: Human Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells
- FDA: Human Food Made with Cultured Animal Cells
Sources checked October 2026.