Early scientists unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed Wagyu meat, which it says has marbles “just like the real one” and is grown from stem cells in the lab.
Most of the “cultured” meat produced so far has come out as minced instead of steak, made up of simple muscle fibers instead of more complex structures.
However, the fillets, especially from the delicate Waygu beef, contain fat, muscle, and blood vessels in an intricate structure that produces a marbled effect, and this is what the University of Osaka team was able to replicate. using 3D printing techniques.
“This work can help introduce a more sustainable future with widely available beef,” which is closer to existing products, says study author Dong-Hee Kang.
The team did not give any indication on the eventual cost of the production of the fillets nor on the time that would take the product to arrive to the market.
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Early scientists have unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed Wagyu calf, which is said to have “just like real” marbles and is grown from stem cells in the laboratory.
The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, bringing with it a growing demand for food, especially for protein-rich foods such as beef, according to the University’s laboratory wagyu developers. from Osaka to Japan. Wagyu beef stock image
Wagyu can be translated as “Japanese cow” in English, and is one of the most famous meats in the world for its high content of “intramuscular fat” and marble.
This marble effect is what brings the rich flavor that also makes it one of the most expensive steaks on the market.
However, current livestock farming techniques are considered unsustainable, especially with regard to climate change emissions, which drives increased demand for plant alternatives and research into cultivated meat products like this.
“The‘ farm meat ’currently available is made up of poorly organized muscle fiber cells that do not reproduce the complex structure of real beef fillets,” the team said.
The Japanese team created a new 3D printing method that was produced in a similar way to that used to make Kintaro sweets, a very old traditional candy formed into a long, sliced pipe, with each slice showing the face of Kintaro (Golden Boy), a popular Japanese hero.
His method creates different fibrous tissues such as muscles, fats and blood vessels through 3D printing and their integration.
According to the study’s authors, it produced “synthetic meat that looks more like the real thing,” which could be used to produce other complex structures.
The team started with two types of stem cells, called bovine satellite cells and adipose-derived stem cells (body fat cells).
Under the right laboratory conditions, these “multipotent” cells can be persuaded to become all the cell types needed to produce cultured meat.
From these cells individual fibers, including muscles, fats, or blood vessels, were made by bioimpression.
The fibers were arranged in three dimensions, following the histological structure, to reproduce the structure of real Wagyu meat, which was finally cut perpendicularly, similar to traditional Japanese sweet.
This process made it possible to reconstruct the complex structure of the meat tissue in a customizable way.
To try to meet this growing demand, several researchers are working on cultured or laboratory-grown meat, produced from stem cells from different animals.
“By improving this technology, it will be possible to not only reproduce complex fleshy structures, but also make subtle adjustments to fat and muscle components,” said lead author Michiya Matsusaki.
That is, customers could order meat grown with the desired amount of fat, depending on taste and health.
The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.