Cultured meat production fuelled by fermentation

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BackgroundCultured meat (CM) has emerged as a breakthrough technology to produce meat outside the animals, which will not only be nutritious (and protein-rich) but also mimic the organoleptic properties of conventional meat. However, being in nascent stage, CM technology is facing various limitations. Fermentation, on the other hand, has existed for centuries and is traditionally associated with textural and flavour enhancements in food. The recent developments in the fermentation technology have garnered increased interest among the players in the alternative protein sector. Scope and approachThis paper discusses how the incorporation of fermentation technology, especially biomass and precision fermentation, into the manufacturing process of CM can potentially alleviate or even eliminate some of its limitations. We have also discussed the technology and product focus and geographical spread of companies in the fermentation and CM space. Key findings and conclusionsThe use of fermentation to produce food ingredients and the industry's fast growth reflects its applicability to CM or alternative protein industries. As the CM industry develops, fermentation continues to engage in essential roles in the CM production process through the provision of natural food-safe ingredients, which could potentially enhance the taste, texture, post-production nutrition and shelf life of the product. Production of ingredients may be derived from engineered metabolic pathways or biomass fermentation with mycelial and macrofungal species. A sizeable proportion of fermentation companies are yielding ingredients of relevance to the CM space. It is postulated that its application will continue to broaden with future research and development.