Campbell's denies using 3D-printed or lab-grown meat after executive's alleged comments

An exec allegedly called Campbell's food "sh*t for f**king poor people"

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WTF?! Campbell's has been forced to confirm that its soups are not made with 3D-printed chicken, lab-grown chicken, or any form of artificial or bioengineered meat. The company's statement comes after an executive was allegedly caught on tape saying its meat "came from a 3D printer" and its food was "sh*t for f**king poor people."

The allegation comes from a lawsuit filed against Campbell's last week by Robert Garza. The security analyst joined Campbell's New Jersey headquarters remotely in September 2024.

Garza claims he was fired in January after raising concerns with executives over racist remarks made by IT VP Martin Bally.

Garza says he recorded the conversation with Bally. "Even in a can of soup, I look at it – and look at bioengineered meat," the person in the recording says. "I don't want to eat a f**king piece of chicken that came from a 3D printer, do you?"

"It's not healthy now that I know what the f**k's in it … bioengineered meat," the person said, before launching a tirade about Campbell's employees of Indian heritage.

The case led to Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announcing that his office is investigating allegations that Campbell's Soup Co. uses bioengineered meat in its soups.

Campbell's has since responded with a new page on its website emphasizing that the chicken meat in its soups comes from long-trusted, USDA approved US suppliers and meets our high-quality standards, and contains no antibiotics.

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"Our soup contains real chicken meat, from real farms, made with real care, just like it always has," the company wrote.

"The comments heard on the recording about our food are not only inaccurate – they are patently absurd," Campbell's said in a statement. It added that the alleged comments were made by a person in IT, who has nothing to do with how the company makes its food.

Garza claims Bally made the comments after the pair met in a restaurant to discuss his salary in 2024. He says he was fired weeks after complaining about the incident.

Campbell's has put Bally on leave while it investigates the alleged comments.

3D-printed food isn't new. You might remember that KFC announced it would be making artificial chicken nuggets for its restaurant of the future concept back in 2020. The fried chicken franchise partnered with Moscow-based company 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create an artificial chicken nugget in the laboratory.

The 3D-printed chicken, which used a mixture of chicken cells and plant material, was never launched at KFC's restaurants.

_{Image credit: Kelly Common}