Scientists based in Japan's Osaka University have found a way to 3D print wagyu beef (the most expensive Japanese beef) in a lab — a step they believe will one day help make widely available and sustainably-produced cuts of cultured meat that closely resemble original products.
Using cells that they took from wagyu cows, the Japanese scientists set out to create a structure with the special feature seen in wagyu beef that makes it different from other cuts of beef. By isolating beef cells, the scientists organized how muscles, fat and other cells should be placed. The researchers then shaped these tissues (组织) into the form of a steak using a technique called 3D bioprinting (生物打印), where cell structures can be made to look like real tissues in living things. The researchers believe that the development could be a big step toward a sustainable future. Its origins from real meat also make it different from plant-based options.
By improving this technology, it will be possible to not only reproduce complex meat structures, but also make subtle adjustments to the fat and muscle components, Michiya Matsusaki, one of the project's researchers, said excitedly in a statement. Michiya added that with these adjustments, more customers might one day be able to order a cultured cut of meat with the amount of fat they like, tailor-made to their tastes and health concerns.
Wagyu beef is known to be extremely expensive, with high-grade wagyu fetching prices of up to $200 per pound and adult cows selling for more than $30,000. In 2019, Japan's wagyu exports reached a record high of $268.8 million in profits, up 20% from 2018.
While this might be the first cut of wagyu beef ever to be 3D-printed, other attempts have been made to bio-print steaks. In February this year, Aleph Farms and the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering at the Israel Institute of Technology jointly bio-printed and cultivated a rib eye steak using real cow cells.
