The term “clean meat” has been commonly used by the Good Food Institute (GFI) and others to label refer to meat produced through cellular agriculture, because naming studies have shown that the "clean meat" term tests well with consumers. Criticisms are that the term is not descriptive enough and that it implies conventional meat is dirty. “Clean meat” and another proposed name, “Slaughter-free meat”, may not be seen as neutral to stakeholders and meat industry partners that can provide valuable help along the regulatory path to market.
Memphis Meats began using the term “cell-based meat” because it differentiates this product from animal-based meat and plant-based meat. More recent GFI studies showed that while “cell-based meat” and “slaughter-free meat” won out in terms of descriptiveness and differentiation from other meats, “cell-based meat” was seen as less appealing to customers than “slaughter-free meat”, “craft meat”, “clean meat” and “cultured meat”. “Cell based meat” was the preferred term among CEOs of startups working on such products.
GFI is continuing to do consumer research with the food and beverage innovation firm Mattson and with the participation of cellular agriculture companies to find the best term. GFI states that it will used the term “clean meat” in popular discourse and either “cultured meat” or “cell-based meat” in instances when “clean meat” would be counterproductive.
