Cultivated meat is real meat grown from animal cells without raising or slaughtering animals. It’s quicker to produce and can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 92% while using 90% less land compared to conventional farming. The process involves five key steps:
- Cell Selection and Collection: Cells are taken from animals via biopsies and stored for long-term use.
- Growth Media Preparation: Nutrient-rich solutions feed the cells, with cost-effective, serum-free options now available.
- Bioreactor Cultivation: Cells grow in controlled environments, scaling from small to large bioreactors.
- Meat Structure Development: Scaffolds and 3D printing create the texture and structure of meat.
- Final Processing and Safety Checks: The meat is tested for safety, packaged, and prepared for sale.
Quick Comparison Table
| Aspect | Cultivated Meat | Conventional Meat |
|---|---|---|
| Production Time | 2–8 weeks | 6 months to 2.5 years |
| Land Use | 90% less | High |
| Water Use | 98% less | High |
| Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Up to 92% less | High |
| Animal Welfare | No slaughter | Requires slaughter |
Cultivated meat is transforming the food industry by offering a faster, more sustainable way to produce meat. With regulatory approvals advancing and production costs dropping, it’s set to become a viable alternative in the UK and beyond.
Step 1: Cell Selection
Choosing the right cells is a crucial step. It not only influences how efficient the process is but also determines the quality of the final product.
Cell Collection Methods
Cells are obtained through minimally invasive biopsies, ensuring their viability is preserved under strict conditions. Modern approaches focus on harvesting muscle cells, as these form the primary component of cultivated meat.
Dan Nelson, Director of Product at CARR Biosystems, shares:
"Through our platform, we are supporting cell and gene therapy, biologics, and cultivated meat companies. Cultivated meat companies are currently using our platform to optimise cell separation, washing and liquid exchange for gene editing, cell banking, seed training, cell expansion, and differentiation through product harvest."
Cell Type Selection
When it comes to cultivated meat production, two main types of cells are commonly used:
| Cell Type | Advantages | Disadvantages | Best Use Cases |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult Stem Cells | - Easier to collect - Straightforward differentiation - More widely accepted ethically |
- Limited ability to multiply - Slower growth rate |
- Immediate production needs - Specific types of meat |
| Pluripotent Stem Cells | - Unlimited growth potential - Can transform into any cell type - Long-term use |
- More complex to culture - Higher production costs - Harder to differentiate |
- Large-scale production - Versatile meat products |
Different companies are working with a variety of starter cells, such as skeletal muscle stem cells, fibroblasts, mesenchymal stem cells, and adipose-derived cells. Developing new cell lines suitable for production can take anywhere from 6 to 18 months.
Once the optimal cell lines are in place, ensuring their long-term viability through proper storage becomes essential.
Cell Storage Systems
Effective storage is key to maintaining cell viability and ensuring consistency in production. Cryopreservation at -80°C has shown excellent results. For instance, bovine myogenic cells retained 97.9% vitality after a year in cryopreservation, with no loss in their ability to grow or differentiate.
Steffen Mueller, European Business Manager at CARR Biosystems, highlights:
"The important thing is to start early by fully characterising critical process parameters that influence the product's manufacturing efficiency and quality."
To maintain cell quality, proper storage systems rely on:
- Temperature-controlled environments
- Specialised preservation media
- Routine viability testing
- Strict contamination prevention protocols
- Detailed record-keeping and documentation
Recent regulatory approvals highlight the success of these methods. In 2024, Israel's Ministry of Health approved Aleph Farms' cultivated beef product, while in the UK, Meatly received the green light to sell cultivated chicken as pet food. These milestones underscore the progress being made in cultivated meat production.
Step 2: Preparing Growth Media
Growth media forms the backbone of cultivated meat production, providing the nutrients needed for cell growth and development. Its composition not only influences the efficiency of cell growth but also plays a role in the quality of the final product. Here's a closer look at its key components, recent advancements, and cost-saving approaches that are paving the way for large-scale production.
Growth Media Ingredients
The ingredients in growth media are carefully selected to support cell development and ensure optimal growth conditions:
| Component | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Glucose | Energy source | Food-grade dextrose |
| Amino Acids | Protein building blocks | L-glutamine, essential amino acids |
| Inorganic Salts | Maintain cellular balance | Sodium chloride, potassium chloride |
| Vitamins | Support metabolic processes | B-complex, ascorbic acid |
| Buffers | Regulate pH levels | HEPES, bicarbonate systems |
To achieve the best results, these ingredients must be balanced precisely. The water used in the media undergoes rigorous processing - reverse osmosis, deionisation, and filtration - before being sterilised with a 0.22 µm filter.
Serum-Free Alternatives
The shift to serum-free solutions has been a game-changer for the industry. In a major development, Aleph Farms gained approval from Israel's Ministry of Health in January 2024 for their serum-free cultivated beef, marking a significant step forward.
The Good Food Institute highlights the critical role of growth media, stating:
"The cell culture media is the most important factor underlying the near-term success of the cultivated meat industry."
Mosa Meat, in collaboration with Nutreco, has made significant progress by substituting 99.2% of their basal cell feed with food-grade components, all while maintaining similar cell growth rates. These innovations are not only advancing the science but are also helping to reduce costs.
Reducing Media Costs
Lowering the cost of growth media is essential for making cultivated meat scalable and affordable. Here are some effective strategies being employed:
- Optimised Formulations: Researchers at Northwestern University have achieved a 97% cost reduction in stem cell media through optimised formulations and bulk purchasing.
- Food-Grade Components: Using food-grade ingredients instead of reagent-grade alternatives can cut costs by up to 82% when purchased in bulk (1 kg scale).
- Innovative Production Methods: Believer Meats has developed a serum-free medium costing only £0.50 per litre by replacing expensive proteins with optimised concentrations of more affordable components.
IntegriCulture Inc., in partnership with JT Group, has also made strides by reducing the number of media components from 31 to 16, incorporating yeast extract as a more economical amino acid source. These advancements are vital to ensuring that cultivated meat production can eventually reach a cost-effective and sustainable scale.
Step 3: Bioreactor Growth
Bioreactors are the backbone of cell growth in controlled environments, offering precise conditions and scalability to meet production demands.
Bioreactor Options
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to bioreactors. Different designs cater to specific needs, each with its own perks:
| Bioreactor Type | Key Features | Best Suited For |
|---|---|---|
| Stirred Tank | Mechanical mixing, up to 20,000L capacity | Large-scale suspension cultures |
| Air-Lift | No moving parts, minimal shear stress | Ultra-large volumes (>20,000L) |
| Hollow Fiber | Surface for cell attachment, low mechanical stress | Specialised tissue growth |
| Rocking Platform | Gentle mixing, single-use systems | Small to medium-scale production |
For instance, Cellular Agriculture Ltd is developing a hollow fiber bioreactor tailored specifically for cultivated meat cell types. This reflects a shift in the industry towards creating equipment designed for these applications, rather than repurposing pharmaceutical tools.
Growth Conditions
Once the right bioreactor is chosen, maintaining the perfect environment for cell growth becomes the primary focus. Modern bioreactors are equipped with advanced monitoring systems to keep critical parameters in check:
- Temperature: Held steady at 37°C, as even a slight increase above 38°C can harm cell health.
- pH Levels: Precisely managed between 7.0 and 7.4 with automated buffer systems.
- Oxygen Saturation: Kept within 20–50% of air saturation to promote growth.
Marie-Laure Collignon, Senior Bioprocess Application Scientist at Cytiva, highlights the importance of these parameters:
"Controlling the key parameters of a bioreactor, such as temperature, pH, pure O2 (pO2), agitation, and pressure are essential to maintain cells in a physical and chemical environment, optimising their performance."
Production Scale-Up
According to McKinsey, production volumes could leap from 1,000–75,000 tonnes by 2025 to a staggering 400,000–2.1 million tonnes by 2030. Achieving this requires advancements in bioprocesses, media formulations, and bioreactor technology, which are already showing promising results:
- Process Improvements: Genetically engineered cell lines now convert glutamate into glutamine internally, reducing ammonia build-up.
- Continuous Processing: A new peptide coating enables cells to attach, grow, and detach continuously, streamlining operations.
- Yield Boosts: Yields have surged from 5–10 g/L to 300–360 g/L, thanks to improved bioreactor designs and optimised processes.
While most companies are currently producing at kilogram scales, large-scale bioreactors are on the horizon, with plans for significant growth in the next few years. These developments are setting the stage for commercial-scale production to become a reality.
Step 4: Creating Meat Structure
Building the structure of cultivated meat starts with choosing the right scaffold materials. These materials replicate the extracellular matrix found in natural tissues, providing the necessary support for cell growth and development.
| Scaffold Type | Materials Used | Benefits |
|---|---|---|
| Natural | Fibrin, gelatin, hyaluronic acid | Encourages natural cell interaction |
| Plant-based | Soy protein, asparagus tissue, alginate | Affordable and environmentally friendly |
| Synthetic | PEG, PGA, PHEMA | Customisable properties |
| Composite | Natural-synthetic blends | Combines the strengths of different materials |
Researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) have made strides by using plant proteins derived from corn, barley, and rye to create edible scaffolds. These scaffolds not only support cell growth but also maintain their structure throughout the cultivation process. With the help of advanced 3D printing, these engineered materials enable precise shaping of meat structures.
3D Printing Methods
3D printing plays a key role in shaping the structure of cultivated meat. Aleph Farms has developed a bioprinting platform that received regulatory approval in Israel in January 2024.
"You can control the shape, structure, flavor profile and nutritional value of a food by integrating various ingredients. This is especially important for the cultured meat industry, where differences in texture, taste and color are essential for producing meat products on par with the conventional meat industry." – Bryan Quoc Le, food scientist
The process involves three main steps:
- Bio-ink preparation: Combining cultured cells with supportive materials to create a printable mixture.
- Layer-by-layer construction: Using digital designs to deposit bio-ink with precision.
- Structure stabilisation: Allowing the printed structure to mature and develop tissue-like characteristics.
This level of precision helps create meat with the texture and structure that consumers expect.
Texture Development
Texture is a make-or-break factor for consumer satisfaction. Researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed an innovative method called immersion Rotary Jet-Spinning (iRJS). This technology produces nanofibres that closely resemble the fibrous structure of natural meat.
Key aspects of texture development include:
| Aspect | Method | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| Muscle Structure | Aligned nanofiber scaffolds | Produces long, meat-like fibres |
| Fat Distribution | Strategically placed fat cells | Achieves ideal marbling, approximately 36% fat |
| Tissue Maturation | Controlled environmental conditions | Ensures proper consistency and texture |
"Taste, color, and texture will be critical to consumer acceptance of cultured meat", says David Kaplan, Stern Family Professor of Engineering at Tufts University School of Engineering.
Companies like Steakholder Foods are putting these principles into action. They’ve created highly marbled beef by layering muscle and fat tissues with incredible accuracy. Their technology even allows for programmable marbling patterns, showcasing how far cultivated meat production has come in replicating the texture and appearance of traditional meat.
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Step 5: Final Processing
After the cultivation in bioreactors and the development of the meat's structure, the next step is to prepare the product for retail. This stage is all about ensuring the meat is safe to consume and meets high-quality standards.
Meat Collection
The cultivated meat is carefully separated from its growth media in a sterile and controlled environment. At this point, an initial quality check is performed to verify that the tissue has formed and differentiated as intended before moving forward.
Safety Checks
Once collected, the meat undergoes rigorous safety protocols outlined in FSIS Directive 7800.1. These include microbiological tests for aerobic counts, Salmonella, and Listeria monocytogenes. Additional steps, like quality assessments, environmental monitoring, and thorough documentation reviews, ensure the product is safe and compliant.
"Food made with cultured animal cells must meet the same stringent requirements, including safety requirements, as all other food regulated by the FDA." – FDA Press Statement
Product Finishing
In this phase, the cultivated meat is packaged to ensure it remains fresh and visually appealing while extending its shelf life. Several packaging methods are used depending on the product's needs:
- Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): Utilises a gas mixture (50% O₂, 30% CO₂, 20% N₂) to maintain colour and minimise oxidation.
- Vacuum Packaging: Reduces fat oxidation by removing air.
- Active Packaging: Incorporates natural antioxidants to provide extra protection against oxidation.
The choice of packaging depends on the product's characteristics and the desired shelf life. As technology advances, processing and packaging methods continue to adapt to meet both regulatory requirements and consumer expectations. The time required for this stage varies based on production scale and specific product demands.
Production Time Comparison
Cultivated meat is produced in just 2–8 weeks, a dramatic leap forward compared to traditional beef production timelines. Conventional beef typically takes 14–15 months, while grass-finished beef can stretch to 24–30 months. These shorter production times are reshaping how the industry meets growing consumer demand.
Traditional cattle farming requires animals to reach a weight of 540–590 kg before they can be sent to market, consuming vast amounts of time, resources, and land in the process.
Recent advancements are pushing these boundaries even further. For example, Meatable's Opti-Ox technology has halved the time for cell differentiation, cutting it from eight days to just four.
"This is truly a remarkable moment for Meatable and the cultivated meat industry as a whole, as we just made the fastest process in the industry that much faster." - Daan Luining, Co-founder and CTO of Meatable
Here’s a comparison of production timelines across different meat types:
| Meat Type | Traditional Production Time | Cultivated Production Time |
|---|---|---|
| Beef | 14-15 months (standard) / 24-30 months (grass-finished) | 2-8 weeks |
| Pork | 244-284 days (including 114-day gestation) | 2-8 weeks |
| Chicken | 6-7 weeks | 2-4 weeks |
The use of bioreactors in cultivated meat production ensures a controlled and consistent environment year-round. This means production is unaffected by seasonal changes or weather, providing stable supply chains and predictable output. Such reliability is a game-changer for meeting market demands efficiently.
Meatable’s four-day process is now the fastest in the industry, making it roughly 60 times quicker than traditional pork production methods. This speed allows for rapid market adaptation and better utilisation of production facilities.
Conclusion: Next Steps
As the cultivated meat industry evolves, the spotlight is now on scaling up production, adapting regulatory frameworks, and preparing the market for wider adoption. Advances in technology are driving down costs, with serum-free media formulations expected to fall below £0.19 per litre - a promising sign for the future.
Scaling efforts are taking centre stage. Bioreactors with capacities of up to 15,000 litres are now in use, pushing the development of more efficient facility designs, greater automation, and improved computational tools to optimise media formulation. At the same time, advancements in cell engineering are accelerating progress across the board.
To sustain this momentum, regulatory alignment and financial backing are crucial.
"To expand the technology [required to produce cultivated meat], we need investments in capex [capital expenditure], which are very expensive for this type of tech. Governments should take part [in fundraising], as currently it is mostly led by private investors." - Neta Lavon, chief technology officer at Aleph Farms
The UK government has already pledged £75 million to sustainable food initiatives, and the Food Standards Agency's regulatory sandbox programme is working to speed up approval processes. Simplifying these regulatory pathways is vital, as the current system of costly and time-consuming filings could slow progress.
The market potential is immense, with projections suggesting the industry could reach £68.4 billion by the end of the decade. A techno-economic analysis estimates that cultivated chicken could eventually cost £4.71 per pound, making it competitive with organic chicken. This trajectory is built on a foundation of safety and innovation.
"Safe innovation is at the heart of this programme. By prioritising consumer safety and making sure new foods, like cell-cultivated products, are safe, we can support growth in innovative sectors. Our aim is to ultimately provide consumers with a wider choice of new food, while maintaining the highest safety standards." - Prof Robin May, chief scientific advisor at the FSA
The focus now shifts to refining taste and texture, improving affordability, and expanding availability. These efforts aim to establish cultivated meat as a practical and appealing protein option for consumers across the UK.
FAQs
How do bioreactors make cultivated meat production more sustainable?
Bioreactors play a key role in producing cultivated meat in a more sustainable way. They provide a controlled setting where animal cells can grow into tissue, eliminating the need for raising or slaughtering animals. This approach significantly lowers greenhouse gas emissions and requires far less land compared to traditional farming.
Studies indicate that cultivated meat could reduce emissions by up to 92% and land use by 90%. Additionally, bioreactors can operate using renewable energy, which further reduces their environmental impact. By tackling ethical concerns and environmental pressures, this technology presents a promising solution to meet the increasing global demand for protein.
What makes reducing the cost of growth media for cultivated meat so challenging, and how are companies tackling this issue?
Reducing the cost of growth media is one of the biggest hurdles in cultivated meat production, as it can make up as much as 95% of the total costs. The main challenges include finding affordable ingredients, meeting strict regulatory standards, and ensuring the media provides the necessary nutrients for cells to grow effectively.
To tackle these obstacles, many companies are working on serum-free media, which removes expensive animal-based components. They're also fine-tuning formulations to include more budget-friendly ingredients. Others are looking into alternative sources of proteins and growth factors, while also enhancing bioprocess efficiency to minimise media consumption. These advancements are crucial steps towards making cultivated meat more affordable and widely available.
How do 3D printing and advanced scaffolds improve the texture and flavour of cultivated meat?
Advancements in 3D printing and scaffold materials are reshaping the way cultivated meat mimics the texture and flavour of traditional meat. By using edible, plant-based scaffolds, these technologies improve the overall mouthfeel while guiding cell growth to replicate the intricate patterns found in natural cuts of meat.
What’s even more exciting is the potential for scaffolds to include flavour-enhancing components. These can release specific compounds during cooking, delivering a taste experience that feels closer to conventional meat. Together, these innovations are helping cultivated meat not only look the part but also taste and feel like the real thing, making it a more tempting choice for consumers.
