From Muscle Fibers to Functional Foods: Bridging Conventional and Cultivated Approaches

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Biotechnology
• Animal Science

Background:

• Cultivated meat offers a sustainable alternative to conventional meat.
• Understanding cultivated meat quality is crucial for product development and consumer acceptance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the quality attributes of cultivated meat.
• To compare these attributes with conventional meat.
• To guide future product development in the cultivated meat industry.

Main Methods:

• Examination of key technical, sensory, and nutritional parameters.
• Analysis of cellular composition, scaffold materials, and postharvest processes.
• Inclusion of industrial context from five cultivated meat companies.

Main Results:

• Cultivated meat quality is influenced by cellular makeup, scaffolds, and processing.
• Key attributes like texture, water-holding capacity, color, and flavor were analyzed.
• Potential for cultivated meat to match or surpass conventional meat in nutrition was discussed.

Conclusions:

• Cultivated meat quality can be optimized through controlled composition and processing.
• Consumer-relevant traits such as tenderness, juiciness, and taste are influenced by production factors.
• Cultivated meat shows promise for comparable or superior nutritional profiles to conventional meat.