An excellent substitute for obtaining foods of animal origin in a much more sustainable way is laboratory-grown meat. According to estimates, growing meat in a lab uses significantly less land than conventional animal farming and can significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that come with it.
Research collaboration between two institutions in China has resulted in the development of lab-grown pork dumplings that have more protein and less fat compared to those made from conventional meat, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported.
In December 2020, the Singapore Food Agency approved the sale of the first cultured meat products, which are expected to have similar approvals in other countries as well.
How have they done it?
To get cultured meat, researchers need to grow cells obtained from the animals in large quantities in the lab. And it should resemble real meat in texture and flavor.
Chinese scientists have claimed to have developed a new “cell factory” to accelerate the expansion of laboratory-grown animal cells, making the industrialization of cultured meat possible. Specifically, they have created an edible 3D porous gelatin microcarrier as a cell expansion scaffold.
Compared to previous studies, in which expansion rates increased 10-fold over a seven-day period, the researchers found that their microcarrier achieved a 20-fold expansion over the same time period.
Regarding their nutritional content, they prepared a typical meatball dish: the cultured meatballs contained 70 percent protein, 4 percent fat, 6 percent carbohydrates, and essential minerals such as zinc, calcium, and iron.
They are already working on mass producing them.
Reference: SCMP
