Florida’s prohibition on cultivated meat sales remains intact after a federal judge dismissed portions of a lawsuit brought by Upside Foods, but allowed the company to move forward with a constitutional challenge under the dormant Commerce Clause.

In an order issued Thursday, U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker granted in part and denied in part motions to dismiss filed by Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson and several state attorneys, narrowing the scope of Upside’s claims but keeping the case alive.

Upside Foods, a California-based company that produces chicken meat from cultured animal cells, filed suit following the Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 1084 in 2024. The law, which took effect earlier this year, prohibits the sale, distribution, and manufacture of cultivated meat in Florida, defined as meat produced from cultured animal cells outside the traditional animal husbandry process. Upside argued the state’s ban conflicted with federal law and unconstitutionally burdened interstate commerce, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief.

In Thursday’s ruling, the court dismissed Upside’s claims that the Florida law was expressly preempted by the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA), a federal statute regulating poultry processing and labeling standards.

Judge Walker ruled that the PPIA does not create a private right of action for companies to enforce its provisions. Enforcement authority, he wrote, rests exclusively with the federal government, and the state’s restrictions did not add ingredient, labeling, or facility requirements beyond those established under federal law.

However, the court allowed Upside to proceed with its dormant Commerce Clause claim. Upside alleges that Florida’s complete ban on cultivated meat unlawfully restricts economic activity and discriminates against out-of-state producers, potentially interfering with interstate commerce in violation of constitutional protections. The court concluded that Upside had sufficiently alleged standing against all defendants and had stated a plausible claim warranting further proceedings.

Upside’s preemption claims have now been dismissed with prejudice, while its constitutional challenge under the dormant Commerce Clause remains pending. The case is proceeding in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida.