Israeli startup Aleph Farms together with Prof. Shulamit Levenberg of the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Tech - Israel Institute of Technology have cultivated the world's first slaughter-free ribeye steak, using 3D bio-printing technology and natural building blocks of meat - real cow cells, without genetic engineering. Aleph Farms unveiled the world's first cultivated thin-cut steak in 2018, which did not utilize 3D bioprinting, but with its new printing technology, the company now has the ability to produce any type of steak and plans to expand its range of quality meat products.
Unlike 3D printing technology, Aleph Farms' 3D 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 vascularization that occurs naturally in tissues, enables the fusion 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.
The cultivated ribeye steak is a thicker cut than the company's first product - a thin-cut steak and incorporates muscle and fat similar to its slaughtered counterpart and boasts the same organoleptic attributes of a delicious tender, juicy ribeye steak that can be bought from the butcher.
Aleph's Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor Prof. Levenberg 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,"
Levenberg is leading world expert in tissue engineering and has amassed over two decades of research in the field at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), in the US and at the Technion, in Israel.
Rehovot-based Aleph Farms graduated from The Kitchen food-tech incubator set up by Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS).
Aleph Farms cofounder and CEO Didier Toubia said, "We recognize 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 diversify our offerings. Additional meat designs will drive a larger impact in the mid and long term. This milestone for me marks a major leap in fulfilling our vision of leading a global food system transition toward a more sustainable, equitable and secure world."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on February 9, 2021
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