Israel-based food technology startup Aleph Farms have revealed the world’s first lab-grown rib eye steak. Produced using cultivated cow cells and grown entirely in a lab setting. the “fake steak” is supposed to mimic the appearance, texture, and taste of the real thing.
Aleph Farms utilizes a groundbreaking 3D bioprinting technology that uses tiny animal cells to produce something that appears like animal flesh. The difference between this and a traditional steak is that no animals are harmed in the process.
The artificial, lab-grown steak is being developed at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. At the moment, the product is not available for sale but this forms a base for new artificial meat cuts to be cultivated.
Shulamit Levenberg, a professor at Technion and Aleph Farm’s Co-founder and Chief Scientific Advisor said:
“With the realization of this milestone, we have broken the barriers to introducing new levels of variety into the cultivated meat cuts we can now produce. As we look into the future of 3D bioprinting, the opportunities are endless.”
Aleph Farms is not entirely new to this, they first produced cultivated steak in 2018. This time, they have improved the texture and thickness of the steak by using 3D bioprinting. In 2018, Aleph Farms developed its cruelty-free steak on the International Space Station. Growing the steak outside the Earth’s orbit allowed them to illustrate their belief that food can be produced with restricted natural resources like water and land.
Aleph Farms is in the process of moving their first commercial product to BioFarm, a trial production facility, with a launch date set for 2022.
Singapore is currently the only country that can legally retail lab-grown meat. However, Israel looks set to follow suit by legalizing the sale of cultured meat products.
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