If there was an award for the punniest company name of 2022, then 3D printed meat company “Steakholder” would absolutely take that prize.
Israeli company Steakholder Foods Ltd. has unveiled their new product, Omakase Beef Morsels, which are bioprinted with cultured meat.
The morsels are inspired by the world famous Wagyu beef, which is notable for its fat marbling patterns in the meat. It’s also very expensive.
The company was formed in 2019, and has an office in Israel and Belgium, and is now expanding operations to the US.
They aim to create sustainable meat products to replace meats such as beef, chicken and even fish.
Steakholder utilizes bovine stem cells for the production of their printed morsels, and the muscle tissue and fat are printed from two seperate bioinks. The layers of meat and fat can be reconfigured in different proportions to create different tasting experiences. A morsel can be made juicier, chewier, and the flavor can be altered also.
The multiple nozzle toolhead technology was developed by the company to ensure industrial-scale levels of precision food printing without impacting the viability of the meaty cells whilst printing.
The process works by first selecting the animals to extract the stem cells from. The cells are selected from animals that will provide the best meat and yield.
The next step is proliferation, in which the cells are placed into a nutrient rich reactor to multiply.
When the cells reach optimal numbers, the stem cells differentiate into muscle cells and fat cells.
In the final steps, the muscle cells and fat cells are turned to meat, ready to be processed into the final product, be it a burger, a steak, or even a meatloaf.
“This product marks a major breakthrough for us and for the cultured meat sector in general,” said Arik Kaufman, Steakholder Foods’ Chief Executive Officer.
“It is the result of a lot of hard work and our desire to attain the highest standard of meat possible through bioprinting and cell cultivation processes. It also marks a significant milestone in our quest to perfect the “holy grail” of meat — steak.
The company has already achieved several milestones since the company inception including making the largest ever 3.67 oz (104 grams) printed cultured steak.
The company also has a patent for their process which concerns methods of applying external forces to muscle tissue for creating the high quality meat.
Steakholder’s provisional patent for “stacked, multi-layered meat-emulating consumable,” is the result of cutting-edge bio-convergence with intensive collaboration between its 3D-printing engineers and cellular biologists.
“We see Omakase Beef Morsels at the intersection of food, technology and fine art,” said Kaufman.
“We want to inspire chefs around the world to create mouthwatering culinary masterpieces and unforgettable dining experiences.”
So there you have it, guilt free meat-eating may be just around the corner. And if the pictures are anything to go buy, it doesn’t look half bad.
To read more about Steakholder, head over to their website at this link.