While the potential for cultivated meat to contribute to sustainable protein production is promising, numerous hurdles remain, including technological, regulatory, and market acceptance issues.
New factory
Nutreco recently completed the construction of the world’s first dedicated food-grade powder production facility for cell feed in Boxmeer, the Netherlands; it is now operational. This facility produces a cell feed or basal media product specifically developed for the cell-cultured meat industry, consisting of key components such as amino acids, minerals, vitamins, and glucose.
“We have successfully produced the first commercial batch of 50 kilograms of cell feed and plan to produce several hundred kilograms per week, scaling up with the cellular agriculture industry,” said Susanne Wiegel, head of the alternative protein program at Nutreco. “We are capable of meeting current and anticipated demands and, as the industry grows, we are ready to scale up accordingly.”
Innovation
Optimizing the cost and components of cell feed is widely considered a key challenge for the nascent cultivated meat industry to reach commercialization.
Last year, Nutreco and Mosa Meat signed an agreement to collaborate on creating a cell feed supply chain. In October 2021, the partners were jointly awarded a React EU grant for the Feed for Meat project, aimed at lowering the cost of cultivated beef while creating a robust supply chain to scale up production.
Their scientists confirmed that a basal media formulated with food-grade ingredients instead of pharma-grade ones performs equally well at a lower cost – a critical step to further developing the cellular agriculture supply chain.
Furthermore, they saw that 99.2% of the basal cell feed by weight can be successfully replaced with food-grade components.
Wiegel outlined how Nutreco's R&D expertise can support this innovation: “We know how to mix and process vitamins, amino acids, trace elements, carbohydrates, and other ingredients into feed formulations at large volumes safely and sustainably. We believe that as the cultivated protein industry scales, the science of feeding animals is vital to feeding cells sustainably. With our expertise, we can ensure cells get the proper feed for their development.”
Partnerships
The company also plans to collaborate with other stakeholders in the cell-cultured protein industry to promote the adoption and integration of this new cell feed.
“We have made strategic investments in cultivated meat companies Mosa Meat and BlueNalu, as well as Roslin Technologies Limited, a supplier to the production process. We are committed to helping this industry grow by becoming a supplier and solutions provider,” Wiegel said. “Partnerships are at the core of Nutreco’s innovation strategy, both in animal nutrition and aquaculture feed, as well as alternative food proteins. We collaborate with partners to develop effective solutions.”
Scale and adoption challenges
Wiegel also acknowledged the uncertainties in the cell-cultured meat and seafood industry.
“Companies like BlueNalu and Mosa Meat are still in the initial stages of developing production processes and addressing competitive production costs. Regulatory frameworks and consumer responses are not yet fully clear.”
Hype machine
Aidan Connolly, president, AgriTech Capital, recently discussed the hype cycle model of disruptive technologies and its relevance to the cellular meat industry. The hype cycle comprises five phases: Technology Trigger, Peak of Inflated Expectations, Trough of Disillusionment, Slope of Enlightenment, and Plateau of Productivity.
He noted that while fermentation and plant-based analogues offer promise for sustainable proteins, the science of lab-grown meats is facing significant challenges. Tech Crunch reports $1.6bn has been invested so far without a sign of commercial success.
According to data Connolly cited, it would require a US$2 trillion investment to build 4,000 factories, each costing around US$500 million, to meet just 10% of the global meat demand.
Cellular meats need antibiotics, stem cells, and expensive fermentation equipment, and there are no long-term studies on their safety, Connolly said. “This food innovation may take longer to germinate.”
As to where the sectors fits in the hype cycle model, he highlighted the disparity between consumer expectations and producer reality in the cultivated meat sector, whereby the general population has high expectations, but producers are currently disillusioned.
Diversified protein sources
Regarding the livestock feed and animal nutrition company's long-term strategic goals in the cell-cultured protein industry and how the new facility fits into these goals, Wiegel told us: “Investment in technological solutions, new production methods (such as cultured proteins), and farming techniques (such as land-based aquaculture), along with efficient traditional farming, is essential for ensuring the long-term stability, sustainability, safety, and security of the global food supply. The biggest potential positive impact on feeding the growing global population lies in more efficient and sustainable traditional farming methods.
“While cultivated meat production techniques are still in the preliminary stages and represent a niche method for animal protein production, there is potential, but it will require time and investment to achieve scale and wide adoption."
In a similar vein, David Blakemore, CEO of Nutreco, commented: “We must continue to drive productivity and reduce environmental footprints in the animal protein value chain and produce protein from varied sources – animals as well as alternative sources such as plant-based protein, meat or seafood developed from animal cells, and protein produced through fermentation. Our investments and innovations in the cell-cultured protein industry are just one way we’re tackling this challenge.”
In May, North Carolina State University received $30 million to establish the Bezos Center for Sustainable Proteins. The grant funding will support research on three types of sustainable proteins: plant-based products; precision fermentation to produce proteins and nutrients that can be used in food formulations; and cultivated meat grown from animal cells.
