The nutritional paradigm of cultivated meat: Bridging science and sustainability

Abstract

Background

Cultivated meat (CM) is a novel food with limited consumer understanding of its nutritional properties. Advancements in cultivated meat (CM) have introduced a significant and innovative dimension to nutrition. Unlike traditional meat, CM offers diverse production methods, potentially revolutionising how we may address nutritional needs and challenges.

Scope and approach

This commentary examines the role of various stages in CM production, from cell sourcing and scaffold fabrication to harvesting and post-processing, in shaping the nutritional values of the final product. It also provides a comparative nutritional analysis of conventional meat identifying CM's advantages, gaps, and challenges. Additionally, this work underscores current state-of-the-art CM production techniques to enhance overall nutrition to meet consumer demands.

Key findings and conclusion

The findings indicate that many CM prototypes have demonstrated a superior nutritional profile compared to conventional meat while using sustainable and cost-effective scaffold ingredients. This paper highlights the existing nutritional knowledge gaps around CM and showcases new production techniques as a key driver of innovation and product development, challenging the perception that CM cannot match the nutritional value of traditional meat. These innovations pave the way for the food industry to explore the sustainable and cost-effective large-scale development of CM.