Innovations, Challenges, and Regulatory Pathways in Cultured Meat for a Sustainable Future

Cultured meat is produced through cellular agriculture and tissue engineering and has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional animal-based meat production. Cultured meat, produced through cellular agriculture and tissue engineering, offers a sustainable alternative to conventional meat production. This review outlines the potential of diverse stem cell sources, including satellite cells, embryonic stem cells, and induced pluripotent stem cells, for producing muscle and adipose tissue. Advances in bioprocess development, biomaterials, and bioreactor design are discussed, with an emphasis on scalability, cost reduction, and regulatory considerations. Despite progress, key challenges remain: replicating the nutritional composition and sensory qualities of conventional meat, developing serum-free media, and ensuring consistent large-scale production. Recent studies report cost reductions of up to 90% in culture media and successful bioreactor expansions beyond 50 L, yet industrial translation is still limited. Consumer acceptance and clear regulatory frameworks are also critical for commercialization. Future work should focus on integrating cellular innovations with scalable technologies to overcome current bottlenecks and accelerate market readiness.