NEW TECH FOODS

Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed lab-grown beef muscle tissue with a thickness and structure that closely mimics conventional meat.

While previous attempts to produce beef muscle in vitro have resulted in thin, underdeveloped fibres, the ETH team has managed to grow tissue that not only replicates the structure of conventional meat, but also mirrors its gene expression, protein profile and contractile behaviour.

The university said that “although scientists had previously succeeded in generating muscle fibres from bovine myoblasts in the lab, these fibres were usually quite thin”. The new tissue was developed by professor Ori Bar-Nur’s group at ETH Zurich.

A specialist in regenerative and muscle biology, Bar-Nur and his team used myoblasts – precursor cells that form muscle fibres – extracted from standard beef cuts including fillet, sirloin, cheek and flank. The cultivated fibres were grown in a cell culture medium enhanced with a cocktail of three molecules that encourage muscle cell differentiation.

A method adapted from muscular dystrophy research

The molecular cocktail was originally developed by Bar-Nur seven years ago during postdoctoral work at Harvard, where he was studying muscle regeneration in mice. “Back then, he was working mainly with mice. His basic research revolved around cultivating muscle cells outside of the body for the treatment of hereditary diseases involving muscle degeneration,” stated ETH Zurich.

The team has since demonstrated that the same method is suitable for generating high-quality bovine muscle fibres in vitro. The molecules are only needed during the early stages of fibre formation and are removed during the production process.

Despite the promising results, the cultivated beef has not yet been approved for human consumption in Switzerland. ETH Zurich highlighted: “However, Bar-Nur has colleagues who have participated in approved tastings of lab-grown beef. They describe the taste and consistency as being similar to that of real meat. After all, it is beef, the only difference being that no cow needs to be slaughtered in order to obtain it.”

Scaling up for future commercialisation

At this stage, the ETH team has produced only small quantities of the lab-grown tissue. “The cell culture medium requires further optimisation to make it more affordable and safe for consumption. Additionally, we need to explore ways to produce these muscle fibres in larger quantities,” said Christine Trautmann, a doctoral student in Bar-Nur’s group and one of the two lead authors of the study.

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“These innovative new food products will have to undergo a prolonged and complex authorisation procedure before they reach shop shelves and, ultimately, our plates,” added Adhideb Ghosh, another lead author of the study.

With cultivated chicken already commercially available in Singapore, interest in alternative proteins continues to grow. Bar-Nur is now considering launching a spin-out company to help bring the technology to market. “He wants to help ensure that we will one day be able to produce ethically sound burgers that are affordable and safe,” Ghosh concluded.