New artificial meat production technologies will reduce production costs

From 21.06.2023, the U.S. Department of Agriculture allowed the sale of artificially grown meat, namely, chicken meat obtained in a laboratory bioreactor using stem cells. Prior to this, the sale of such products was authorized only in Singapore.

So far, artificial meat cannot compete with natural meat due to very high production costs, but researchers are working to reduce the cost of production.

According to NEW SCIENTIST, scientists have managed to get artificial meat from cells that are able to produce a growth factor for themselves, which until now had to be introduced into the cells from outside. This technology will simplify the production of artificial meat and significantly reduce its cost.

In the process of making artificial meat, the greatest cost is growth factors – substances that ensure the reproduction of cells from which the raw material for nuggets will be obtained. Some of these substances were able to be replaced by cheaper ones, but there was no substitute for the main and most expensive component in this process – fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2).

Scientists at Tufts University have discovered that modified bovine stem cells can express the desired substance. The genes responsible for the formation of skeletal muscle cells, in particular, for the production of FGF2, were changed in them, after which there was no need to add expensive growth factors. Scientists believe that the new technology will work not only with beef, but also with other meats. And its dissemination will reduce the environmental impact of livestock farming.

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