Global Cold Chain Alliance

And what kind of supply chain does it require?

As the world population increases to 10 billion by 2050, total food and meat production must rise by 70% and 100%, respectively, to satisfy global demand. The U.S. food production system faces several issues in meeting this demand. Increasing water scarcity in major production regions and increasing vulnerability to disruptions from natural disasters due to climate change are just some of the growing issues that prompt the need for new technologies in meat production. 

In addition, a critical challenge in food supply chains is food loss issues that present significant sustainability and security challenges, with 60% of meat becoming processing waste (1.4 billion tons for livestock; 800 million tons for seafood). New sources of sustainable and nutritional protein would help address these concerns. Cultivated meat production is emerging as a feasible solution to address immediate societal problems by developing new sustainable agri-food systems to feed a rapidly growing global population. This industry will provide nutritious and safe foods for consumer options while reducing environmental impact and resource usage (78-96% fewer greenhouse gas emissions, 99% less land use and 82-96% less water use). 

What is Cellular Agriculture and Cultivated Meat?

Cellular agriculture is producing agricultural products using cell culture and tissue engineering techniques instead of using whole plants or animals. Cultivated meat, also known as cultured, in vitro, lab-grown, clean, and cell-based meat, is genuine animal skeletal muscle and adipose tissue that can replicate the sensory and nutritional profile of conventionally produced meat and seafood since it has the same cell types arranged in the same threedimensional structure. Cultivated meat burger was unveiled by Dr. Mark Post on live television in 2013. In 2015, four cultivated meat startup companies were funded, and the industry has since grown rapidly to more than 70 companies worldwide. Combining cell biology, tissue engineering, cell culture, fermentation, bioprocessing, data processing and chemical engineering supported the cultivated meat industry. Currently, there are hundreds of companies and research laboratories working with several non-governmental organizations to support the field. The first federal grant ($3.2 million) was awarded by UC Davis from the National Science Foundation. It was followed by the first United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant awarded by Tufts University ($10 million) to develop the first National Institute of Cellular Agriculture in collaboration with Virginia Tech, UC Davis, MIT, Virginia State University and the University of Massachusetts Boston. 

Cultivated vs. Conventional Meat Supply Chain

At this moment, there is no specific cultivated meat supply chain. The cultivated meat industry depends on cell lines, cell banks, media (containing growth factors, amino acids, peptides, proteins, vitamins, minerals and trace elements), plant-based materials (i.e., scaffold), packaging, cold storage, shipment and existing distribution channels. However, the conventional meat supply chain, which depends on feeds, farms, processing plants and distribution channels, could also be used for cultivated meat (Figure 1).  Media ingredients and final products, similar to conventional meat products, must be transported and stored under cold conditions to maintain the quality and safety of the final products. Many media ingredients are heat sensitive and should be transported and stored properly. Considering the cultivated meat industry is rapidly growing – it is believed that cultivated meat will make up around 25% of the global meat market by 2040 – its supply chain must grow at the same pace. Cultivated meat production cost is higher than conventional meat products. Thus, to reduce the cost of production, the quality and yield of the final product must be increased by providing high-quality ingredients, optimizing the production systems and applying proper storage conditions such as a cold chain.

Regulation

While the cultivated meat industry is growing rapidly worldwide, regulations are slowly developing. Cell-based meats fall under the Novel Food Regulation in Europe. However, in the United States, it is not clear whether the USDA or the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction. In 2018, FDA and USDA agreed to create a joint regulatory approach. In 2019, they established a joint agreement indicating which agency regulates food produced using cell culture. At this moment, many cultivated meat companies in the United States prepare their food safety plan and standards based on both FDA and USDA, and in many cases, they received support from consultants. Singapore Food Agency has approved Eat Just’s cell-cultured chicken as the first country that approved cultivated meat.

Acknowledgment

Dr. Ovissipour would like to thank the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Grant 2021-69012-35978. 

Reza Ovissipour is with the FutureFoods Lab and Cellular Agriculture Initiative, Virginia Seafood AREC, Virginia Tech.

EMAIL: ovissi@vt.edu.

MICHAEL JAHNCKE is Chair of the GCCA Scientific Advisory Council and Virginia Tech Emeritus Professor.

EMAIL: mjahncke@vt.edu.

Source: Cold Facts  May/June 2022 issue