From dairy by-product to cell feed: milk whey for serum-free media and scaffold development in cell-based food production

Cultivated meat is gaining attention as a sustainable source of animal protein, yet its research and development are constrained by limited access to serum-free media and scaffolding biomaterials. Milk whey, a nutrient-rich dairy by-product, exhibits biochemical and functional similarities to blood serum. This review examines the potential of whey as both a serum substitute and a scaffold material for muscle cell cultivation in cultivated meat and other cell-based production systems.