Food scientists have found a way to make chicken nuggets and fish cakes from animal bones and hard tissue.
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We could believe in the scenario of a third “Chicken Run” movie, but The solution proposed by Finnish startup SuperGround is based on solid environmental reasons.
The idea is to reduce that Food waste and reduce CO2 emissions from animal husbandry through better use of meatAchieve the same food production by raising fewer animals.
“I have been compiling a list of unsolved food problems for many years,” Santtu Vekkeli, founder and chief inventor of SuperGround, tells Euronews Green. “Using bones in food without chemicals like enzymes has been on the list for about eight years.”
By combining and modifying several existing machines, the inventors were able to produce a “smooth, tasty dough” from hard tissue for the first time three years ago. SuperGround is now looking for partnerships with global food production companies enthusiastic about its sustainable mission.
Would you like to taste it? Here's what you need to know:
How can bones be used in food?
The SuperGround method retains most of the nutrients Meat – like heat-sensitive vitamins – in a usable, non-denatured form. Another advantage: *The paste obtained can be easily mixed with food existingmuscle-based*, such as fish cakes and chicken nuggets.
“Hard tissues are excellent feed and contain about the same amount of protein and fat as minced meat,” explains Santtu Vekkeli.
Up to 30% of a nugget can be made from crushed thighs, breasts, backbone and wing tipswithout affecting taste, smell or other properties such as “bite strength”.
This value is lower than that of fish, for which According to the inventors, they managed to replace up to 50% of the mass with raw materials such as the head, skin, scales and bones of the fish.
Santtu Vekkeli explains this by saying that people have a more accurate idea of the taste of nuggets than fish balls. Fish products also tend to be more tender.
For chicken and fish products SuperGround claims its process can reduce carbon emissions by increasing food yields by 20 to 70 percent.
“THE CO2 emissions will only decrease if the consumption of animal products does not increase more than our solution increases the amount of food available,” explains Santtu Vekkeli.
What is currently happening to bones and animal waste?
When the chicken becomes poultry and the cow becomes beef, the “leftovers” tend to disappear from the cycle. Still, Animal farming produces a huge amount of waste.
According to Statista, more than 130 million tons of poultry meat are consumed every year. About 20% of a poultry's mass is made up of tough tissueSanttu Vekkeli explains that this is a “huge waste”.
“Typically, bones are boiled into broths or split to separate proteins, fats and other elements when made into food. Most of the bones are then simply thrown into landfill” adds Santtu Vekkeli.
Agricultural economists are more cautious in their assessment. “From what I know about the food industry, I assume that waste will be managed and reused very efficiently” says Brenna Daun Ellison, associate professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University.
“I assume that the most common reuse is animal feed, biofuels, cosmeticsetc.”.
In the EU, Chicken bones are exported for use in animal food or to feed livestock. Since 2021, the Union has relaxed its rules, allowing processed animal proteins (PAT). Chickenincluding bones, can be fed to pigs and vice versa.
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Can bone consumption reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
“Welcome to a world where sustainable meat is no longer a paradox,” says the SuperGround website.
Food systems are responsible for a third of all gases warming the planetand using animals for meat is twice as harmful to the environment as plant-based foods.
“The modern animal-based food system is obviously not the best way to produce food for the world’s population,” Santtu Vekkeli says via email, “but it is the system we have today.”
“People and the industry are used to it and it takes a long time to improve it. But the climate requires immediate action! We need positive changes now, and the most effective way to improve the situation is to do something that doesn't require changes in consumers' purchasing habits,” he adds.
Minced meat products make up a relatively small share of the overall meat marketpoints out Jayson Lusk, vice president and dean of the School of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at Oklahoma State University, in a letter sent to Wired.
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Therefore, adding bones to chicken nuggets is unlikely to suddenly make the meat sustainable. However, according to Brenna Daun Ellison, it is an “interesting concept” in a sector that desperately needs change.
Will consumers adopt it?
People now need to be more open-minded about their food choices: fried insects Now lab-grown burgers are on the menu.
“We learned that People don't want the taste, mouthfeel, or smell of their products to change“, explains Santtu Vekkeli. “Recipe changes are a normal practice and people accept them as long as the products have the same sensory and nutritional properties.”
It is possible that food manufacturers will be initially tempted by efficiency and cost savings and will go for “meat on the bone” with their consumers.
THE “Upcycled certified program“—a way to regulate food byproducts in the United States—could be an example of the marketing of this meat, suggests Brenna Daun Ellison.
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