The food-tech start-up has been growing steak in space, and now Aleph Farms says it has successfully cultivated ribeye steak using three-dimensional (3D) bioprinting technology and natural building blocks of meat – real cow cells, without genetic engineering and immortalisation.
The steak has been created in partnership with the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.
Unlike traditional 3D printing, Aleph Farms’ 30 bioprinting technology is the printing of actual living cells that are then incubated to grow, differentiate, and interact, in order to acquire the texture and qualities of a real steak. A proprietary system, similar to the vascularisation that occurs naturally in tissues, enables the perfusion of nutrients across the thicker tissue and grants the steak with the similar shape and structure of its native form as found in livestock before and during cooking.
“This breakthrough reflects an artistic expression of the scientific expertise of our team,” says Didier Toubia, co-founder and CEO of Aleph Farms.
“We recognise some consumers will crave thicker and fattier cuts of meat. This accomplishment represents our commitment to meeting our consumer’s unique preferences and taste buds, and we will continue to progressively diversity our offerings.
“Additional meat designs will drive a larger impact in the mid and long term,” says Toubia.
“This milestone for me marks a major leap in fulfilling our vision of leading a global food system transition towards a more sustainable, equitable and secure world.”
