‘Crafted meat products are the next step in the development of products that can also help address several looming global problems’

Last week, KFC announced it is developing 3D bioprinted chicken nuggets dubbed the “meat of the future”

The international fast-food chain has partnered with Russian company 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create the world’s first laboratory-produced chicken nuggets that will be ‘as close as possible in taste and appearance’ to the original product.

The cell-based nuggets will have the same microelements as the original product, while excluding various additives that are used in traditional farming and animal husbandry, creating a cleaner final product.

While 3D Bioprinting Solutions is developing additive bioprinting technology using chicken cells and plant material, KFC will provide all of the necessary ingredients, such as breading and spices, to achieve the signature KFC taste. 

The product is expected to be ready for testing in Moscow labs this autumn.

According to a study by the American Environmental Science & Technology Journal, the technology of growing meat from cells has minimal negative impact on the environment, allowing energy consumption to be cut by more than half, greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production.

“At KFC, we are closely monitoring all of the latest trends and innovations and doing our best to keep up with the times by introducing advanced technologies to our restaurant networks,” Raisa Polyakova, General Manager of KFC Russia & CIS said.

“Crafted meat products are the next step in the development of our “restaurant of the future” concept. Our experiment in testing 3D bioprinting technology to create chicken products can also help address several looming global problems.

“We are glad to contribute to its development and are working to make it available to thousands of people in Russia and, if possible, around the world.”

Cell based meat

The Bioprinting method, which is used in medicine to create tissues and even organs, is gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat. The cofounder and managing partner at 3D Bioprinting Solutions, Yusef Khesuani, said he hoped the KFC partnership would make cell-based meats more widely acceptable and accessible.

“3D bioprinting technologies, initially widely recognized in medicine, are nowadays gaining popularity in producing foods such as meat,” he said.

“In the future, the rapid development of such technologies will allow us to make 3D-printed meat products more accessible and we are hoping that the technology created as a result of our cooperation with KFC will help accelerate the launch of cell-based meat products on the market.

Elsewhere, A group of international students recently developed a 3D technique for printing salmon.

The three students from Sweden, Spain, and Denmark teamed up to form Legendary Vish– a project that aims “to offer everyone who loves the taste of fresh seafood a delicious plant-based alternative.”

“We saw a unique opportunity in utilising 3D food printing to create seafood products with a complex structure, which cannot be achieved with classical extrusion technologies,” Robin Simsa, CEO of the Legendary Vish project told FoodNavigator.

• Read: Students create 3D-printed vegan salmon to drive sustainability in the seafood industry

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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