Two scientists carefully handle a thin test tube and insert it into a device that can make very precise measurements. They are looking for the ideal formula to feed a group of cells so that they multiply as quickly as possible until they become a new food. They grow meat in San Sebastián, a city known for its gastronomy – good meat and good fish are religion – where every tavern serves exquisite pintxos and up to nine restaurants in the province have Michelin stars. Nobody here knows what it tastes like or what it is like, as this new food is not yet allowed to be consumed in Europe – but it can be consumed in Singapore and the USA – due to a lack of health approval.
“This is not science fiction, we are already producing cultured meat and are carrying out tests to produce it at an industrial level next year,” explains Iñigo Charola, co-founder of BioTech Foods, the first company to develop it in Spain, together with the scientists. This is just one example of the food revolution we will see in the coming years: scientists and industry are working on new, more sustainable proteins that will lead to products such as microalgae bread, tuna and vegetable bacon, meat-flavored vegetables, mushroom burgers and substitutes. from milk that does not come from animals.
“Tissue engineering, the field from which I come, is used in regenerative medicine to create tissues such as skin, tendons or bones and to repair tissue damaged by trauma or other injuries,” says Mercedes Vila, co-founder of the San company Sebastian. “Later people started thinking that it could also be applied to the meat we eat, as it is also made up of tissue, particularly muscle, although the process needed to be made much cheaper to do this.” And we’ve been doing that for seven years,” he adds.
Mercedes Vila and Iñigo Charola, co-founders of BioTech Foods, last Tuesday in San Sebastián.Javier Hernández
“First you have to do a biopsy on a cow, you take a group of cells and isolate the ones that interest you. From there we use cellular agriculture, that is, we grow these cells outside the animal’s body, imitating its conditions in terms of temperature, CO₂…,” says Charola while walking through the facilities, where there are seven laboratories. In one of them, Marcos Navascués is responsible for finding the recipe for feeding these cells: “They eat the same way we do, but in a simpler way.” We give them sugars, vitamins and amino acids in their simplest form. “Now we’re testing which ones work best.”
Two scientists from BioTech Foods examine meat grown in a laboratory owned by the Basque company Javier Hernández
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“Cells double every 24 hours. “In two weeks we got cultured meat,” says Charola. The company already has a pilot plant in which the conditions for mass production are being tested. However, journalists are not allowed to visit so as not to reveal industrial secrets. Also, do not taste the taste, which in his opinion is identical to that of regular meat. “There are several companies in the world working on this and we cannot take the risk,” he reasons. In any case, he explains that there are very large bioreactors in the form of huge stainless steel containers, like those you see in dairies or beer factories.
From there, instead of a liquid, a mass of meat similar to minced meat will emerge, as shown in a picture – which cannot be reproduced. “You can use it to prepare hamburgers, meatballs, sausages, nuggets and all other foods that contain meat. 60% of the meat consumed today is meat preparations. “In addition, our meat is fat-free, which makes it healthier, and vegetable fats such as olive oil can be added, which are healthier,” he continues.
Meat from a laboratory at Maastricht University (Netherlands). Camera Press
They are already building their future factory in the Basque city, for which they received an investment of 36 million euros from the Brazilian giant JBS – two years earlier they received the first European public financing for a company of this kind. They hope to do so in less than a year to be able to operate with around 150 employees and produce around 4,000 tonnes per year. Of course, they cannot be sold in Europe for now as this requires approval from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which will take at least two years and must prove that there is no risk to health. Yes, it can be exported to Singapore – where this has been allowed since 2020 – and the US, where sales were just approved to two companies. In fact, Spanish chef José Andrés – who did not respond to this newspaper – is one of the first to sell farmed chicken in one of his restaurants.
“Good Meat” chicken dish served at José Andrés restaurant in Washington DC SHERRY HECK (Good Meat)
A few days ago, an open letter signed by former ministers, experts and Nobel Prize winners called on the EU to invest public money in research into new foods, including cultured meat, precision fermentation and plant proteins, to combat climate change and make diets healthier. “It is a revolution that is already underway,” summarizes Javier Martín, founder of Lantern, a consultancy specializing in the food industry. “A few years ago it started with legume or vegetable burgers that were only sold in vegan shops. Now we have textured soy or pea proteins in replicas of nuggets, sausages or chicken, which are very interesting in terms of texture and taste and are sold in many supermarkets. And new non-animal proteins are being worked on.”
Lantern has just published the report “The Green Revolution”, which analyzes the sector in Spain and estimates that alternative proteins to meat already generate around 113 million euros annually, while alternatives to milk generate 370 million euros. The vegetarian population, which includes vegans, vegetarians and flexitarians – with only occasional meat consumption – has risen from 9% to 11% in four years. Experts estimate that alternative sources could account for more than 10% of the protein market in the next decade.
Milk without cows and eggs without chickens
Another field being worked on in Spain is precision fermentation. “In classic fermentation, microorganisms develop to better modify and preserve the food (wine, cheese, yoghurt). “Now, in precision engineering, microorganisms are modified through genetic manipulation so that they produce a protein that they would not normally produce,” says Massimo Castellari, an expert in this field at the Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (IRTA). “For example, we have already developed a yeast that produces casein, a protein found in milk that can give plant-based drinks the milky taste. Another component extracted in this way is leghemoglobin, a red dye that can be added to a vegetable burger to give it a red color and a meatier taste,” he continues.
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Roberto Pérez Torrado from the Institute of Agricultural Chemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) is researching the production of ingredients such as hydroxytyrosol (a powerful antioxidant) or melatonin (a hormone that helps sleep). “We use precision fermentation to create modified microorganisms that can produce these compounds with great efficiency,” he summarizes. And he mentions other possible uses for this technique, in which he is an expert: “In the USA they have already made an ice cream with synthetic milk and they are also trying to recreate egg protein, which can have many uses.” An EFSA spokesman confirms, that Europe has already received several applications for approval of new ingredients based on precision fermentation, which may take two years or more to resolve.
Alternative plant-based proteins are also being sought. “Spain is at the forefront of this issue,” says Albert Anglarill, innovation manager at employers’ association Aecoc. “There are large corporate groups that are studying this, such as Pascual, Central Lechera Asturiana or Mahou San Miguel.” The latter leads the European project Cheers – with 11 partners from 5 countries – which aims to valorize beer by-products; One of its lines involves using bagasse, the malt remaining after beer production, to feed insects, which in turn serve as a protein ingredient in two drinks that serve as nutritional supplements. Pascual is now funding four international startups searching for new plant proteins such as casein, and Danone is researching plant and dairy proteins at an industrial plant in Tres Cantos (Madrid).
Innomy Foods brand mushroom protein burger.
Anglarill also mentions “innovative start-ups like Moa Foodtech, which uses biotechnology to improve the efficiency of agricultural products, or Innomy Labs.” “We use grains and legumes to feed mushrooms, which we then ferment, and the result is a mushroom protein that “We will use meat analogues like mushroom burgers,” summarizes Juan Pablo de Giacomi, founder of the company. Other larger companies, such as Heura Foods, use more common proteins – soy, legumes – but have introduced many products that mimic meat to the general public.
3D printed vegetable bacon
There are even more surprising examples. “At Cocuus we are working on industrial lines to 3D print food from cell masses that can come from cultured meat, vegetable crops or the reuse of leftovers from large meat companies,” says Patxi Larumbe, CEO of the company. They have just developed a vegetable bacon that closely resembles the animal – “it even has a rind” – 3D printed with plant-based bioinks and plan to launch it in supermarkets in the coming days. They also develop vegetable shrimp and tuna.
Industry and scientists go hand in hand. “We work with hydrolysis, fermentation and other techniques to create aromas and flavors of meat that allow us to simulate the sensory properties of meat in plant-based products,” says Mónica Flores from the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA-CSIC) and They are also studying “hybrid proteins to simulate the texture of meat.” Such techniques eventually find their way to leading companies.
Vegetable tuna that they produce at the Cocuus company. Cocuus
They never stop looking for new sources. “Pulses and soybeans are already well established, there is now a lot of work being done on broad beans, and also on rubisco, an enzyme that is part of the photosynthesis cycle in plants. At the moment it is not easy to extract, but it can be a good way to take advantage of non-productive vegetation,” explains IRTA’s Castelari. “Another line of research is to modify a plant’s genome to produce new proteins, for example soybeans to produce casein. A vegetable cheese is already made from it,” he continues.
Another idea is microalgae. “This type of algae is high in protein, but there is a lot of ignorance about its nutritional value. We study how they are digested and explore simple treatments to create ingredients from them,” says Marta Martínez from the Food Sciences Research Institute (CIAL-CSIC). “In the future, we could make bread, pasta and cookies from seaweed, with a better nutritional profile than before,” he continues.
With all these ingredients, Spain has the potential to continue to be an agricultural and food power in the future, according to the experts surveyed. European legislation needs to advance, prices come down and the consumer is ready to change. Back in San Sebastián, Charola is optimistic: “The majority of young people are eager to try cultured meat, especially out of environmental awareness and animal welfare. We know the taste is the same. It will certainly be another product in supermarkets in a few years.”
A “Spanish ambassador” for cultured meat
Cultured meat (which can be beef, pork, chicken or even fish) has been sold since the end of 2020 in the small city-state of Singapore, where it is already offered by some restaurants and shops, although still at very high prices due to the high cost of production. . However, the big leap came last summer when the US approved two companies to market it.
One of these is Good Meat, backed by Spanish chef José Andrés, who already sells cultured chicken at his restaurant China Chilcano in the capital. “Introducing our chicken meat to a restaurant is the perfect way to introduce cultured meat to consumers. “Being able to do this with José Andrés, one of the most respected chefs in the world, is a dream come true,” a spokesperson for Good Meat said via email.
Collaborating with renowned chefs is common in this type of launch, as it is a way to test consumers and production prices are still very high. “Our current production capacity is a few thousand kilos per year. “In a decade, we want to reach tens of millions per year and are working to make the process more cost-effective and efficient,” the spokesperson added.
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