FACT CHECK: No, Aldi’s Store-Brand Bacon Is Not Lab-Grown
A post shared on Instagram claims German discount supermarket chain Aldi’s store-brand bacon is lab-grown.
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Verdict: False
The claim is false and has been debunked by multiple news outlets, including The Associated Press. An Aldi spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Five new Aldi stores are planning to open in Mid-Michigan, including in Alpena and Fenton, according to local outlet ABC 12 News. The five new stores in Michigan are part of the German discount supermarket chain’s nationwide expansion plan, the outlet reported.
The Instagram post claims Aldi’s store-brand bacon is lab-grown. “Aldi’s customers: If you shop at Aldi you need to know that store brand bacon is not from [a] pig it’s from a growing CELL,” the post’s caption reads, listing Appleton Meats as the brand purportedly sold by the German discount supermarket chain. An image featured in the post shows premium-sliced bacon from the brand Appleton Farms, however.
The claim is false. Aldi’s store-brand is Appleton Farms, not Appleton Meats, according to The Associated Press. In addition, a spokesperson for the German discount supermarket chain told the outlet that Appleton Farms products are not lab-grown.
“Our Appleton Farms products are not produced through cultivated lab practices,” the spokesperson explained.
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to support the claim. In fact, the opposite is true. The claim has been debunked by multiple outlets, including USA Today, Verify This, and The U.S. Sun, who cited The Associated Press in their reporting.
Furthermore, Aldi has neither commented on the claim via its website nor its verified social media accounts. (RELATED: Did Tyson Foods Say They Will Hire Illegal Immigrants?)
Appleton Meats, the brand mistakenly named in the Instagram post, was founded in 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Sid Deen, according to Golden.com. It is described as a “cellular agriculture company working on scaling up the production of clean ground beef,” according to the same website.
A spokesperson for Aldi denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“Appleton Farms is an ALDI private label brand and has no affiliation with Appleton Meats. Our Appleton Farms products are not produced through cultivated lab practices,” the spokesperson said.
