Israel’s Aleph Farms unveils 3D-printed ribeye steak
- The lab-grown meat product ‘incorporates muscle and fat similar to its slaughtered counterpart’, the firm says
- It was cultivated using ‘bio-printing’ and real cow cells that are incubated to grow and acquire the texture and qualities of a real steak
Israel’s Aleph Farms has cultivated a ribeye steak using three-dimensional “bio-printing” and real cow cells – an achievement that is prompting the startup to eye other meat.
Working with the faculty of biomedical engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Aleph Farms made the “world’s first slaughter-free ribeye steak”, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.
The firm’s technology prints living cells that are incubated to grow, differentiate and interact to acquire the texture and qualities of a real steak.
“It incorporates muscle and fat similar to its slaughtered counterpart,” Aleph Farms said, adding that the product boasts the same attributes “of a delicious tender, juicy ribeye steak you’d buy from the butcher”.
While in its infancy, lab-grown meat could give consumers the taste and nutritional qualities of beef without killing an animal. Surging demand for meat alternatives has boosted sales of plant-based burger patties and sausages.