MeaTech, an Israeli company, unveiled Wednesday’s world-largest lab-grown steak.
This steak, which weighs in at 3.67 ounces is made of real fat and muscle cells that were taken from the tissue samples from living cows. When cooked it produces attractive grill marks.
To make the steak, living bovine stem cell were used in the bio-inks.
Once the printed slab of “meat” was matured, the stem cells could be differentiated and become fat or muscle cells.
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This steak, which weighs in at 3.67 ounces is made of real fat and muscle cells that were taken from the tissue from a live cow. When cooked it produces attractive grill marks.
In a press release, MeaTech stated that their goal was to create a truly replacement for the traditional steak by maximizing cell-based contents rather than using non-meat ingredient.
“MeaTech plans to keep improving its bioprinting technology and cultivation technologies in order to produce cultivated beef that better reflects the characteristics of premium farm-raised steak.”
The production of livestock for slaughter is responsible for almost 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. This makes it a major contributor to climate change.
Methane produced from cows, which is 28 times stronger than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the atmosphere, makes things worse.
Nearly 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by livestock being raised to slaughter for meat. This makes it a major contributor to climate change. According to some estimates, methane produced from cows can be 28x more powerful than carbon dioxide when it comes to warming the atmosphere.
MeaTech continues to work on its 3D printed steak.
It all starts with isolating stem cells from bovines and then multiplying them.
The cells can be transformed into bioinks by MeaTech, and these are loaded in the MeaTech 3D Bioprinter which is capable digitally printing cell inks.
Stem cells are the final product, which then mature into fat cells and muscle cells. These cells then produce fat tissue.
MeaTech released the following statement: “Each step in the cultivated steak processing was designed and optimized in-house. From unique bio-ink formulations to proprietary cell differentiation protocols for stem cells to patent printing techniques.
The firm claims that the steak tastes, smells, and feels exactly the same as the farmed variety.
The popularity of lab-grown meats is growing. In August scientists unveiled the first 3D-printed Wagyu beef. Scientists claim it is marbling “just like the real thing” and was created from stem cells grown in the laboratory.
Scientists revealed the world’s first 3D printed Wagyu beef in August. They claim it is marbling “just like real” and was grown in the laboratory from stem cells.
The majority of ‘cultured meat’ produced thus far is more like mince than steak. It’s made up simple muscle fibers and not complex structures.
Steaks, especially from Waygu beef, contain fat, muscles, blood vessels, and an intricate structure that produces a marbling effect. This is exactly what Osaka University’s team was able replicate with 3D printing.
Dong Hee Kang says that the study may lead to a better future for cultured meats, which is more affordable than existing products.
It was not clear what the final cost would be for producing steaks, or the time it would take to get the product on the market.