News

Canadian researchers claim to create more ‘meat-like’ lab-grown products

Beef Central, 04/02/2021

RESEARCHERS at Canada’s McMaster University have developed new methods of cell culture which they say creates more ‘natural’ lab-grown meat products.

The techniques promise a more natural flavour and texture than other alternatives to traditional meat from animals, they say.

Researchers Ravi Selvaganapathy and Alireza Shahin-Shamsabadi, both of the university’s School of Biomedical Engineering, have devised a way to make ‘meat’ by stacking thin sheets of cultivated muscle and fat cells grown together in a lab setting. The technique is adapted from a method used to grow tissue for human transplants.

Previous lab-grown meats have produced muscle cells only, with fats added later for flavour and appearance.

Under the research at McMaster U, the sheets of living cells, each about the thickness of a sheet of printer paper, are first grown in culture and then concentrated on growth plates before being peeled-off and stacked or folded together. The sheets naturally bond to one another before the cells die.

The layers can be stacked into a solid piece of any thickness, Dr Selvaganapathy says, and “tuned” to replicate the fat content and marbling of any cut of meat – an advantage over other alternatives.

“We are creating slabs of meat,” he said. “Consumers will be able to buy meat with whatever percentage of fat they like – just like they do with milk.”

The researchers proved the concept by making meat from available lines of mouse cells. Though they did not eat the mouse meat described in the research paper, they later made and cooked a sample of meat they created from rabbit cells.

“It felt and tasted just like meat,” Dr Selvaganapathy said.

“There is no reason to think the same technology would not work for growing beef, pork or chicken, and the model would lend itself well to large-scale production,” he said.

The university said the researchers were inspired by the ‘meat-supply crisis’ in which ‘worldwide demand is growing, while current meat consumption is straining land and water resources and generating troubling levels of greenhouse gases.’

“Meat production right now is not sustainable,” Dr Selvaganapathy said. “There has to be an alternative way of creating meat.”

Producing viable meat without raising and harvesting animals would be far more sustainable, more sanitary and far less wasteful, the researchers suggested.

While other forms of cultured meat have previously been developed, the McMaster researchers believe theirs has the best potential for creating products consumers will accept, enjoy and afford.

The researchers have formed a start-up company to begin commercialising the technology.

 

Source: McMaster University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HAVE YOUR SAY

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your comment will not appear until it has been moderated.
Contributions that contravene our Comments Policy will not be published.

Comments

  1. Steve+Taylor, 04/02/2021

    Under our laws of truth in labeling surely consumers will be advised that they are eating mice and rabbits ??

    Thanks for your comment, Steve. The article suggests that while mice and rabbits were used in these experiments, the principal can also be applied to beef muscle and fat cells. Editor

  2. Paul+D.+Butler, 04/02/2021

    Lab created slime is NOT natural NOT meat in any way and NOT something the beef industry should be supporting in any way.

  3. Andrew Mathie, 04/02/2021

    Frankenstein food.

Get Beef Central's news headlines emailed to you -
FREE!