‘We expect to make a huge impact on the meat market and the future of our planet’

Redefine Meat- a 3D printing company focused on animal-free meat has unveiled the world’s first new plant-based 3D steak called Alt-Steak™ with market testing at select Israeli restaurants to begin towards the end of 2020.

The company with its patent pending 3D printing technology makes sustainable, high-protein, no-cholesterol steaks, which it calls ‘the start of a new era in alternative meat’.

The ‘meat’ is made from soy, pea protein, coconut fat, sunflower oil and natural colours and flavourings.

In order to develop the meat substitutes, Redefine Meat uses special “ink” and 3D printers along with technology that mapped 70 sensorial parameters to produce a cut of vegan meat that mirrors the taste, texture, and juiciness of a beef steak.

The vegan steaks are printed using three unique formulations, or “ink”, which the company calls Alt-Muscle, Alt-Fat, and Alt-Blood sourced from natural, sustainable and popularly-consumed plant-based ingredients.

“The importance of using precision 3D-printing technology to achieve texture, color, and flavor—and the combinations between them—cannot be overstated,” said Redefine Meat CEO and Co-founder Eshchar Ben-Shitrit.

“By using separate formulations for muscle, fat, and blood, we can focus on each individual aspect of creating the perfect Alt-Steak product. This is unique to our 3D-printing technology and lets us achieve unprecedented control of what happens inside the matrix of alt-meat.”

‘Tasty and affordable’

Redefine Meat is gearing to test the Alt-Steak in selected Israeli restaurants next month with plans to debut the ‘meat’ to European restaurants in 2021 and supermarkets in 2022.

According to the company, its alt-meat is 95% more sustainable, significantly healthier and costs less than beef.

“Since day one of the company, we have been working on creating a tasty and affordable plant-based alternative to steaks, one of the most cherished food products and the driver of the entire meat industry,” said Ben-Shitrit.

“Today’s announcement marks the start of a new era in alternative meat – the Alt-Steak era – driven by production processes that will accelerate the development of a wide range of alt-meat whole muscle products and create a sustainable alternative to raising and eating animals.”

‘Huge impact’

Last year the company raised $6 million through a seed funding round led by several investors to speed up the development of its 3D printer. 

“Our goal is not just to develop a new food product, but to introduce a new technology for developing, producing and scaling alt-meat products,” said Ben-Shitrit at the time.

“Over the coming 12 months, we will take the technology to the next level where we expect to make a huge impact on the meat market and the future of our planet.”

• Read: Vegan meat sales in the US spike by 280% amid coronavirus pandemic

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