The cultivation of cell meat in the laboratory is advancing exponentially. While some products are already on the market in countries such as Israel or Singapore, now it is the turn of the British biotechnology company 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) which has presented what they call the world’s first pork fillet made from cell culture.
Mark Post, a professor at Maastricht University who in 2013 presented the world’s first laboratory hamburger, argues that cattle are inefficient to meet food demand. For this reason, new technology companies are betting on manufacturing meat in a laboratory. Also, no animal abuse.
3DBT is a tissue engineering company that it’s producing human corneas to help solve vision problems in humans, and what it’s done is used the same process that it does to make skin and other human organs like a cornea, to make cell-cultured beef steaks without need to use any component of plant origin.
Presented what is called the world’s first pork fillet made from cell culture, it is a piece made entirely from the cells of the animal. A piece 9 cm long by 4 cm wide and 1 cm thick, which replicates the texture and flavor of traditional steak.
Now, the novelty of 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) as explained by the executive director, Dr Che Chonnon, is that “the point of difference here is that we are creating a structured product for the first time that allows us to create a full cut steak.” In other words, it is the creation of a structured product instead of one that is unstructured. This makes it possible to create a product that is much more like a traditional fillet. The advance is due to technology known as “structure without scaffolding”. It is helping to generate cultured meat that is more like traditional meat in all respects without the need for plant-based additives.
While the development, the British firm began extracting pig cells and placing them in a cell culture environment, which allowed them to grow and divide. The cells were then grown using the company’s proprietary technology. The importance of this, says Connon, is the reproduction of tissue that replicates the natural alignment of cells and therefore, reproduces the same sensation in the mouth, bite and texture of the meat. Also in the process, a cell growth enhancer called City-mix was used, which enhances the growth of cells and tissues to the point that scaffolding is not needed.
In a matter of days (within a month to be precise) the 3D Bio-Tissues (3DBT) cultured pork fillet was ready. Distancing themselves from other companies, which usually take about 45 days for production. The objective of 3D Bio-Tissues is clear: to offer cultured meat that is more similar to traditional meat and, in addition, that is much cheaper to produce, to reach the masses and enter the market at a competitive price. Today, the company continues to investigate to take the next step: producing fillets that are ready to eat.
Image | 3D Bio-Tissues
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