Cultured Meat

Basic overview of Cultured Meat

Cultured meat is produced without pain by harvesting muscle cells from a living cow. Manufacturers then feed the cells with culture media so that they can multiply to produce muscle tissue, which is the important component of meat that people eat. It is biologically the same as meat tissue that comes from a cow. Cultured meat is also known as clean meat, lab-grown meat, cellular agriculture, or in-vitro meat. The Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations (FAO) estimated that the meat demand will increase by more than two-thirds in the next 40 years, and the current methods utilized to produce them are not sustainable. It is said the in future due to the increasing demand for meat, its prices will also get increase. The traditional meat which is prepared using livestock increases global warming by releasing methane, due to which there is a 20 times increase in greenhouse gas emission. So, an increase in demand will significantly increase the levels of methane, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide, which causes a loss of biodiversity. This cultured meat is a comparatively more sustainable option, which will change the way of eating meat. This cultured meat sector aims to disrupt the conventional way of producing meat by using animals. This goal helps in decreasing the number of animals killed for food and also producing a more sustainable and ethical global food system. Producing cultured meat significantly bypasses the animal itself, and concerns about animal slaughter as well the cruelty. Also, post initial research was funded in part by the people for the ethical treatment of animals. Furthermore, it’s not just only animals that are saved by cultured meat, the planet is also saved in many ways. With the expectation that the world population will surge past nine billion by 2050 and meat production contributed major section for global warming, cell-cultured meat may be the solution to prevent all these problems in the future. In 2018 research, Hanna Tuomisto, a professor at the Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science said that when the environmental impacts were compared of cultured meat with plant-based foods, it showed that cultured meat has higher greenhouse gas emission and the energy used compared to unprocessed plant-based protein crops, like beans and peas, but emissions are comparable with processes vegetarian meat substitutes. She also mentioned that cell-cultured meat is expected to utilize less water and land and it may also produce fewer overall greenhouse gases, which can lead to a positive impact on the environment. Apart from this, many companies are in the process to bring this meat out of the lab into the factory, and eventually to the global markets. Also, various companies have largely worked out the flavor issues. Consumers are now satisfied with the taste. The technology used for producing cultured meat is tissue engineering techniques. Various other technologies are also developed and utilized by many food start-ups companies.

Many emerging start-ups produced cell-cultured meat to satisfy the increasing demand and reduce the environmental impact.

In June, an Israeli company, Future Meat, announced the opening of the facility, which will make meat equivalent to 5,000 hamburgers a day. The company also hopes to make its product available in the US by 2022. Another company, Eat Just, which is already marketing its product chicken nuggets in Singapore, is also the first country to approve the cell-cultures meat for sale.

How is Cultured Meat made?

Q

Technological challenges in the production of Cultured Meat:

There are some production technology challenges to be addressed for cultured meat to go into the market. In general, the production process can be divided into three parts such as cell collection, cell culture, and cultured meat production. In the cell collection process, the challenge is a method for obtaining the living cells. And in cell culture, the method for developing and mass-production of culture media as well as other materials, and in cultured meat production, the challenge is a method for processing. It was said that the biggest challenge among them is developing methods and mass production of cultural media. The start-ups which are developing cultured meat do not carry out the entire production process. Many companies now have come up with a specialized method for the development and mass production of culture media. This indicates that even though many have pointed out challenges regarding the method of developing and mass-producing cultured fluid, the optimal solution has not yet been found.

Other technological challenges:

The main challenge is the texture of the meat which comes from the tissue contained in the muscles. The cultured meat produced using bioreactors does not contain muscle tissue. Only paste-like cells are available. Therefore, with existing plant-based meat substitutes, cultured meat can only be produced into products that use minced meat, like hamburgers. The problem which is needed to be solved is the reproduction of muscle tissue. Many studies are ongoing to develop a technology that can recreate the original texture of meat, like steak meat. In 2019, Nissin Foods Holding, collaborated with the University of Tokyo, to make dice steak-shaped bovine muscle tissue and they were succeeded. Many emerging start-ups have produced mushroom fiber scaffolding to provide a similar texture as original meat.

A representative list of companies producing cultured meat all over the world:

Q

Eat Just

Eat Just is a company that produces plant-based egg substitutes
The plant-based egg products are made from mung bean
Offers slaughter-free frittatas, omelets, French toast
The company utilizes cutting-edge science and technology to make healthier, and more sustainable foods

The company produces plant-based products by using key ingredients such as mung beans. It contains proteins that taste and scrambles like an egg. Mung bean is a sustainable crop, which is rich in potassium, magnesium, and dietary fiber. JUST Egg obtains its egg-yolk golden color naturally by using turmeric and carrot. The products are cholesterol-free, Non-GMO, and contain no artificial flavors. The company has raised USD 97 million in funds for cultured meat production.

Benefits of Cultured Meat:

Production of cultured meat uses 99% less space, 45% less energy, and 96% fewer greenhouse gas emission
It reduces food-borne diseases
Improved nutritional profiles, for example, by replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats, making eggs without cholesterol, or making lactose-free milk
Better animal welfare
Sustainable meat production

Regulatory updates of cultured meat

Singapore becomes the first country to approve the sale of lab-grown meat. Singapore (SFA) approved the sale of cultured meat products. The SFA approval of the product includes cultured chicken, which is produced by the US-based Eat Just company. The company has announced that the product will be produced with local partners under its new brand GOOD Meat. It will debut under the GOOD Meat brand as chicken bite along with breading and seasoning in a single restaurant. The SFA also stated that the chicken produced by Eat Just met its safety standards for use in nuggets, covering the way for commercial launch in Asian cities or states. Furthermore, Eat Just plans to build the first-ever cultured meat facility in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region, in partnership with Doha Venture Capital (DVC) and Qatar Free Zones Authority (QFZA). The new facility will also include a protein processing facility for its plant-based egg. The facility will be situated in Umm Alhoul Free Zone, which is regulated by QFZA. It will also offer direct access to Hamad Port, Qatar’s primary seaport. The QFZA and Ministry of Public Health proposed that they will give regulatory approval for GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken very soon. The organization has already allowed an export license for the product.

Cultured Meat

Listen to this Article

Basic overview of Cultured Meat

How is Cultured Meat made?

Technological challenges in the production of Cultured Meat:

Benefits of Cultured Meat:

Regulatory updates of cultured meat

References

Need a thought partner?

Our Clients

Cultured Meat

Listen to this Article

Basic overview of Cultured Meat

How is Cultured Meat made?

Technological challenges in the production of Cultured Meat:

Benefits of Cultured Meat:

Regulatory updates of cultured meat

References

Need a thought partner?

Our Clients

Talk to us about how FutureBridge can address your unknowns, blind spots, innovation challenges and growth opportunities