Review in edible materials for sustainable cultured meat: scaffolds and microcarriers production

Abstract

Summary Cultured meat, also known as laboratory‐grown or cell‐based meat, is a promising concept in the food industry that involves culturing animal cells in vitro to produce meat products, bypassing the need for traditional animal rearing and slaughter. This technology offers solutions to key challenges associated with conventional meat production, including environmental sustainability, animal welfare and food security. However, the cultured meat industry must overcome significant hurdles to achieve commercial viability. Scaling up production to meet the increasing demand for meat is a considerable challenge, requiring a scalable edible scaffold, eliminating the need for separate scaffold removal, and ensuring product safety. Various edible materials, including polysaccharides and proteins, along with fabrication techniques like electrospinning and 3D printing, are explored in this review article.