A new breakthrough in lab-grown meat technology promises to enhance the flavour profile of lab-grown meat products, bringing them closer to the taste of conventional meat.
Researchers have developed a 'flavour-switchable scaffold' that releases meaty flavour compounds at cooking temperatures.
Prof Jinkee Hong, co-author of the study published in Nature Communications, highlighted the significance of this innovation. Speaking to BBC Science Focus, he said: “Many researchers have been digging away to develop various bio-scaffolds that can afford livestock cells to produce 3D structured cultured meat.”
Yet Hong pointed out that until now such endeavours had focussed on the biological requirements while neglecting the things we consumers actually care about – namely, flavour, texture and taste. “Because the final tissue […] should be recognised as food, we believe technologies to regulate these organoleptic properties of cultured tissues should be studied.”
undefined
The new scaffold, a gelatin-based gel, incorporates a flavour compound which breaks down when heated. This releases a meaty flavour in a reaction similar to when conventional meat is cooked.
Chemical analyses, including tests with an electronic nose (e-nose), revealed that the cultured meat's new flavour pattern closely resembles that of grilled beef.
“Of course, it is not 100 per cent identical to the conventional meat, but it has a meaty flavour and texture,” the study’s first author Milae Lee told BBC Science Focus.
“But we believe that we can decrease this gap in the future by developing bio-scaffolds that can embody more meaty properties,” Lee added.
Cultured meat is increasingly viewed as a sustainable alternative to conventional animal protein. If scientists can replicate meat effectively, Hong said it could offer consumers the food they enjoy with far lower carbon emissions or ethical considerations of animal slaughter.
Moreover, the ability to engineer lab-grown meat according to specific consumer needs could make lab-grown meat a healthy food option of the future.
“Because the lab-grown meat can be grown in the lab, all the properties and characteristics of the product can be engineered according to needs. For example, if the consumers want the meat to have high protein but zero fat, cultured meat can be engineered to have these properties,” Lee noted.
Despite these advancements, the researchers are well aware of the current limitations and the need for further research.
“There are many researchers developing scaffolds for cultured meat production but there is still a long way to go to achieve cultured meat that 100 per cent replicates conventional meat,” Hong said.
Lee added that with costs still sky-high, significant scale-up will be needed too before lab-grown meat is cost-effective and commercially viable. So, don’t expect to see it on supermarket shelves any time soon.
Still, the team remained optimistic they’d crack it one day. “We believe that we can make significant contributions to the development of cultured meat which can eventually benefit the global society,” Lee said.
About our experts
Jinkee Hong is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Yonsei University. His research group, Nano Complex Materials Laboratory, focuses on advancing cutting-edge research in the field of functional polymers.
Milae Lee is a student in the MS & PhD integrated programme at Yonsei University. Her research interests focus on scaffold engineering, drug delivery for cell stimulation and bio-electrical stimulation. She’s contributed to 13 research papers published in journals such as Science Advances and Nature Communications, four of which she was the first author for.
Read more: