A team led by University of Tokyo professor Shoji Takeuchi has developed a new method to make cultured meat as thick as about 1 centimeter.
Cultured meat is produced by multiplying livestock cells. Conventional methods resulted in thin pieces of such meat because efforts to make the meat thicker caused the cells to die from lack of nutrients.
By incorporating hollow fibers into the cell culture process, the team succeeded in creating meat that was about 1 centimeter thick and weighed about 11 grams.
In the new method, the team poured chicken cells and culture solution into a cell culture device with many hollow fibers, each slightly thicker than a strand of hair.
The inside of the cultured meat was also fresh, thanks to nutrients and oxygen seeping into the meat through the hollow fibers.
As the cells lined up along the hollow fibers, the meat had a texture similar to animal meat, the team said.
The flavor of the cultured meat is also believed to have improved as it contained a larger amount of amino acids.
“The world has yet to establish an effective method for producing cultured meat that can be mistaken for real meat,” Takeuchi said. “I think the new method will contribute to this field.”
The team’s findings were published in an international biotechnology journal on Wednesday.
Cultured meat, which is expected to help solve food shortages and reduce environmental burdens, has been approved for sale in Singapore, the United States and other countries.
The latest technology for cultured meat is on display at the ongoing 2025 World Expo in Osaka.
