Solutions in Sustainable Food Supply
Across the globe, more than 350 million tons of meat are produced every year, and that is only expected to increase. The state of energy resources, increasing consumer awareness and the growing climate emergency are driving factors behind the rise of alternative proteins. As the world looks for solutions to provide enough protein to an increasing global population, whilst addressing arable land use concerns and climate change, cultivated meat and dairy products are a solution which could support a more sustainable food supply.
In December 2020, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) approved the sale of cultivated chicken, becoming the first country in the world to have commercialized a cultivated meat product. The cultured chicken is allowed to be sold in Singapore as an ingredient in chicken nugget products.
What is Cultivated Meat and Dairy?
By growing animal cells directly, cultivated meat which is also known as “cultured meat,” could provide one solution to reducing the environmental impact of protein production. Cultivated meat refers to the use of bioreactors where cellular agriculture occurs. Also commonly referred to as:
- lab-grown meat
- in-vitro meat
- synthetic meat
- cell-cultured meat
The cultivated meat process begins with the selection of cells from the animal. The cells which have the best capacity for multiplication and renewal are chosen and allowed to multiply in cell culture media within a bioreactor, the vessel which contains the cell culture media and provides a controlled environment for cell multiplication. Within the cell culture media are key nutrients such as amino acids, lipids, vitamins, glucose, and salts. Next, growth factors are added. Inside the bioreactor, the cells multiply and form a type of cell that will develop into a muscle fiber (myotubes). Alongside the formation of muscle cells, fat cells (adipocytes) and connectivity tissue cells (fibroblasts) are also grown in the bioreactor. This process takes several weeks. The harvested cells are then further processed to make the desired product. Often, 3D printing is used to create a product which has a familiar meat-cut shape.
Cultivated milk differs from the meat products as yeast and/or microbial fermentation or cells from mammalian mammary glands are used to produce milk proteins, instead of the cells being the final product. In the fermentation process, the DNA to produce casein and whey proteins are integrated into yeast or microbes, and milk proteins are produced by the process. Once the fermentation process is complete, the milk proteins are filtered out of the media and mixed with plant fats, sugars, and water.
The cell-based process starts by extracting cells from mammary glands which are then added to culture media in a bioreactor to proliferate. These cells are then transferred into a lactation media where they start to produce milk. The use of hollow fiber bioreactor technology allows the milk to be separated from the lactation media.
Using Cell-Based Technologies to Create Cultivated Dairy Products
The biotech company TurtleTree collaborated with Waters Corporation’s International Food and Water Research Centre (“IFWRC”) in Singapore. They are rapidly expanding their research facilities and laboratories in Singapore and the United States. After receiving significant global funding, TurtleTree has accelerated their research into the production of functional and bioactive proteins and sugars found in human and bovine milk.
I sat down (virtually) with members of the TurtleTree research and development team to learn more about the use of cell-based technologies as a source of protein, and to collect their thoughts on how analytical technologies such as liquid chromatography (LC) and liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS) support their industry.
Q; How is TurtleTree supporting the goal of more sustainable and efficient food production?
A: TurtleTree is dedicated to producing a new generation of nutrition—one that’s better for the planet, better for the animals, and better for people everywhere. Utilizing our proprietary, cell-based technology, our company is creating ‘better-for-you’ milk ingredients sustainably and affordably, with benefits that extend beyond the dining table.
Q: What role do you think cultivated meat and dairy will play in the alternative protein market?
A: Cultivated food products can contribute to building a diversified alternative protein market. Plant-based proteins, of course, will still be a pillar in alternative proteins. But we don’t have to lose out on the benefits of animal-patterned proteins as cell-based technologies now enable us to recreate them without relying on the whole animal.
The beauty of this is we can combine all these types of proteins, including cell-based and plant-based, to make great food products.
This also aligns with TurtleTree’s inclusive values. We want to make sure that as the food we eat changes, cultures do not. This space isn’t solely about chicken nuggets; that is just the opening play in this space, and we don’t intend to settle there. We want to see all cultures and cuisines bring their amazing food to the same future we envision.
Q: How do analytical technologies such as LC and LC-MS support this industry?
A: Technologies like LC and LC-MS can help scientists better execute product quality control by precisely identifying proteins of interest and analyzing the proteins and impurities in samples. This is crucial for the quality control of the proteins and data collection for research and development (R&D) purposes.
Q: What are some of the needs you have today to support your cultivated meat and dairy processes?
A: We are looking for solutions to help improve our separation technologies and quantification of the samples to ensure the purity of the proteins. Such improvements will help enhance the confidence of our experimental data as well as our product quality.
Q: How do companies like Waters support you in meeting your analytical challenges?
A: As we move to scale up our production levels, we would like to continue to partner up with renowned laboratory equipment companies like Waters to work on solutions to produce highly purified proteins with consistent quality.
As we support the multitude of companies in the growing alternative protein space, we continue to be on the cutting-edge of scientific advancement.
Further Resources:
App note: Automated Sample Preparation
Waters Food Testing Forum 2022 – Day 3: Innovation in the Pursuit of Safe, Authentic, Nutritious, and Sustainable Food Supply Chains
References:
Singapore Food Agency (2021). Safety of alternative protein
Watson E. (2020) TurtleTree labs raises $6.2M to support cell-cultured milk platform
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