No, Your Bacon From Aldi Is Not Lab-Grown

In March 2024, a curious post appeared on Facebook users' feeds, claiming that Aldi's bacon, sold under the store's brand name Appleton Farms, was composed of lab-grown cells, rather than pigs. It continued by naming the company from which Aldi supposedly sourced its bacon: Appleton Meats. Accompanying it was a picture of Aldi's premium sliced bacon in its packaging.

Chalk it up to another wild conspiracy theory. This one is both terrible and easily debunked; the two companies don't even have the same names. The mix-up (whether intentional or not) apparently occurred with the similarities in the "Appleton" portion of the names. Appleton Farms is one of Aldi's house brands, which sells deli or charcuterie-type meats, as well as bacon. The post describes Appleton Meats, per Snopes, as a "privately funded company exploring multiple cellular agricultural methods," which was true. However, the Canadian company, founded in 2017, does not even appear to be operational any longer, having shut its doors around 2019.

Aldi responded briefly to the unfounded allegations that its bacon was lab-grown, telling AP News that products sold under the Appleton Farms name are "not produced through cultivated lab practices." So rejoice! You can continue to eat Aldi's Appleton Farms bacon without worrying about the meat being sourced from cells in a lab. It comes from a pig, with the package ingredients listed as bacon, water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, and sodium nitrate.

This storm-in-a-teacup is in stark contrast to one of Aldi's most epic meat scandals to date: In 2013 the company found that the beef in some of its lasagna sold in Europe contained between 30% and 100% horse meat. Yes, rather than simply an internet rumor, tests confirmed the presence of horse meat in the lasagna, and Aldi hasn't quite lived down the controversy. Naturally, the company issued a stern statement at the time that called out its meat supplier.

Unfortunately, Aldi has yet to reveal the actual source of its bacon. Let's back up, though. One of the ways Aldi can offer its items for such low prices is that it sells mostly house brands — meaning it sources its products from the same manufacturers as name brands, but puts its own label on it. This saves Aldi, and its customers, some money.

However, when an item is recalled, the FDA recall website, as well as Aldi's own site, lists not only the store brand, but the original manufacturer of the product as well. This is how Aldi shoppers can learn that Simply Nature Organic Poppy Seed Dressing was, as of 2021, actually made by Drew's Organics, LLC. On the one hand, it's lucky that so far, Appleton Farms bacon hasn't been the subject of a recall; on the other, it does mean inquiring minds still don't know the actual manufacturer of the product. It could very well be a variety of suppliers, as Aldi sources some of its meat from different regional farms. One thing we do know is that the bacon certainly comes from a farm in the U.S., as the company must state the country of origin if the meat is sourced internationally.