Startups claim to produce cultured meat on a large scale; Science does not see this

The results were very successful, as fat, connective tissue and bone cells clumped together into a monolayer and a sphere. For muscle, the preferred form of assembly is the myotube, where cells are grouped together to form long tubular strands, like muscle fibers found in meat. This form of cell assembly is thought to be more physically resistant than monolayer cells, giving cultured meat an appearance and texture closer to conventional meat.

“Protocols are determined by each researcher and many steps and information remain confidential. So each research group decides what to test, and as we progress in the project, new avenues open up and we have to choose a path in a world of possibilities,” says Karen Silveira, MA student. Post Ph.D. who joined Embrapa about a month ago.

When designing the methodology, the scientist specifies several steps to be performed, and the experiment does not always consist of continuous actions. In many cases, when a test does not produce satisfactory results and there is sufficient time and opportunity to repeat the test by changing the variables, the team re-runs the experiment and compares the results. With cultured meat there are many variables in the composition of the culture medium, such as the percentage of growth factor, hormone and glucose, with or without fetal bovine serum. Each of these groups of elements will influence the rate of reproduction and nutrition of animal cells, which can produce more satisfactory results for a particular cell type.

The GFI-funded Embrapa project aims to produce cultured chicken meat with a muscle-like structure, i.e. the formation of cells into a specific shape with the help of support. To this end, tests have begun based on the results of research carried out by Carla Oliveira, from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, on cellulose nanobacteria, a film similar to a Kombucha SCOBY. By producing this material, they developed a scaffold with dimensions similar to those of sasami (7.5 cm x 5 cm x 1 cm), without a distinct flavor.

“The scaffolding was produced in bottles and took two to three weeks to complete. At some point, the bacteria stopped producing even without changing the conditions in the laboratory or in the feed. So without explanation. These things happen when you do experiments with… Living organisms,” says Vivian Federn, project coordinator.

The bacterial structure forms a hollow cavity that allowed the researchers to inject a mixture of fat, connective tissue and bone cells to see how they attach to the scaffold. In February, when I was at Embrapa, the researchers had not yet conducted the experiment including muscle cells.