China's artificial cells cultivate "pork belly". Will it be a trend without raising pigs?

Meeting Point News Recently, a trial of a cell -cultivated meat (hereinafter referred to as cultivating meat) products will be held in Nanjing. At the meeting, China ’s first artificial cell cultivation“ pork belly ”products were displayed, and a number of cells cultivated meat technology were introduced.

Artificial meat is divided into two types: plant protein and animal cells. Plant artificial meat has been came out as early as 2012. Why is the 2.0 version of the cultivation of meat? How is it different from plant protein? How to develop it? Is it safe to eat? "Science and Technology Weekly" reporter interviewed a number of authoritative experts in the food field.

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Technology core: change "breeding animals" to "breeding cells"

"Pork belly is very chewy", "Fat is very fragrant", "The meat skewers are authentic" ... A few days ago, at the 2nd cell culture meat product trial ceremony and new technology conference held in Nanjing, try to eat Those who lamented the dishes such as "green pepper fried meat", "skin belly" and "meat skewers" with the cultivation of meat as raw materials.

The reporter saw at the scene that the red and white meat slices were placed in the plate, as if it was just cut. "This kind of cultivation meat extracts stem cells from the animal body, and then cultivates in the biological reactor, that is, use animal cells 'breeding' to produce meat." Dr. Ding Shijeng Facan, CEO of Nanjing Zhouzi Future Food Technology Co., Ltd.

"Different from the" vegetarian meat "(plant meat) made of plant (soybeans, peas), cultivating meat mainly uses the production method of muscles in the body, and uses animal cells to cultivate edible meat." Ding Shijie explained that the cell tissue was extracted from the animal, and the stem cells were separated; and then used the biological reactor to expand the cultivation to achieve large -scale proliferation; Use foodization processing technology to cultivate meat products. "Simply put, you can eat pork without raising pigs." Ding Shijie said with a smile.

At present, the technical team has achieved a number of technical breakthroughs in "muscle lipid cells co -cultivation", "low -cost non -serum medium", "suspended culture of carrier -free cells", and "cultivation of accurate cultivation meat printing based on multi -channel". Under the blessing of multi -re -technology, the production efficiency of cell cultivation of meat has been greatly improved. It is also a 20-day training time. The cultivation of meat production has increased from 40-50 grams two years ago to 200 grams. "At present, the monthly output can reach 300-500 grams." Ding Shijie said.

Professor Zhou Guanghong, an academician of the Academy of Food Sciences and Professor Zhou Guanghong of Nanjing Agricultural University, said at the technology conference that the core of cell cultivation of meat is to transform "breeding animals" into "breeding cells". Cell culture meat is in line with the overall strategic goal of national sustainable development, low -carbon agriculture and "big food concept". As a new meat production technology, cell cultivation is expected in the future.

How far is it from the market? Taste and taste need to be optimized

Taking pork as an example, the CCTV documentary "Seed Seeds" tells us: In Chinese meat consumer goods, pork consumption ranks first, and the Chinese eat 700 million pigs a year. From the data point of view, meat supply is not lacking. Why should we develop and cultivate meat technology?

Ding Shijie gave the reason from two aspects: there are contradictions between the continuous rise in meat demand and the supply of meat. "China is one of the fastest -growing countries in the world. Nowadays, my country's per capita meat consumption is about 60 kg each year, and only 60 % of European and American residents per capita. It will face the gap in meat supply. "Ding Shijie said.

At the same time, there is insufficient meat supply. For example, Ding Shijie: "The swine fever in the past two years and the international trade situation and feed problems in recent years have caused the entire meat production to be in a relatively contradictory stage." The supply cannot be balanced, and the cell culture meat can be used as a meat supplement to alleviate this problem. "

In addition, today's resources and environment are also facing severe challenges. "Traditional animal husbandry will occupy a large amount of environmental resources and bring ecological pressure to the earth. Cultivating meat is relatively traditional meat, which can reduce energy consumption by 7%to 45%, and reduce 78%to 96%of greenhouse gas emissions. Reduce the use of land by 99%, reduce 82%to 96%of water consumption, and basically avoid various problems such as neglecting animal welfare and abuse of antibiotics caused by traditional animal husbandry. " In terms of challenges, the cultivation of meat has an advantage, which can protect the natural environment and maintain ecological balance and harmony when it meets the demand for meat supply.

Internationally, beef, pork, chicken, salmon, shrimp and other cells have become the norm. However, in addition to meeting human daily needs for meat, Ding Shijie believes that cell culture meat technology can also be applied to different scenarios in the food industry in the future, such as the supply of meat in space exploration. "With the further maturity of technology, the low -cost production process of cell cultivation can give some inspiration and reference to life medicine to help the production of drugs and collagen skin care products."

Although there is still a certain distance to cultivate meat from the market, in fact, the public is no stranger to "artificial meat". In recent years, well -known catering companies including KFC, McDonald's, Starbucks, etc. have launched "plant meat" products.

Of course, compared to breeding meat, cell culture meat also has room for optimization in terms of taste and taste. "In terms of taste, the meat of the meat is still lacking, and the fat differentiation can be further optimized; in terms of taste, the cultivation of meat can now reach the taste of the traditional meat. Say. Safety of artificial meat safety: safety index system and policy indispensable

In recent years, there have been dozens of listed companies in the field of "artificial meat" in my country, and "artificial meat" has been favored by the capital market. But some netizens have doubts: Can "artificial meat" eat, is it safe?

"Food safety is the top priority. It may be approved by the regulatory department for the listing of foods for the future of food to cultivate meat. It is also indispensable to cultivate the safety of meat and introduce relevant management standards." Chen Jian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, accepted "Science and Technology Weekly 》 The reporter pointed out in an interview that there is no international standardized safety management specifications for the formation of standardized safety management for cultivating meat risk prevention. The United States, Canada and other national regulatory agencies are starting to establish a cell -cultivated meat safety evaluation framework, mainly including chemical exogenous risks in production processes, and biological endogenous risks of animal cell culture.

Academician Chen Jian believes that the formation of comprehensive cultivation of meat risk prevention and safety management specifications requires close attention to the use of components and processes in the production process, establishing carrier, components, and production processes in advance and safety index systems; establish cell medium conversion The process of biological risk prevention and safety index system; improve the comparative analysis of product nutritional ingredients and nutrient utilization and evaluation of dietary exposure.

"We hope to promote the cultivation of meat supervision through close communication." Ding Shijie said that earlier this year, he participated in the special report of the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Ministry as one of the industry experts. "We plan to realize the marketization of cells in 3-5 years. Prior to this, it is necessary to establish a safety regulatory system." Ding Shijie admits that favorable policies will vigorously promote the establishment and commercial development of cells to cultivate meat products. Provide motivation and direction for the cultivation of meat R & D companies. In addition, strengthening peer exchanges, improving upstream and downstream industrial chains, and strengthening consumer cognition are also the only way to achieve the future development of cell cultivation.

After the successful listing of cells, its sales price will also become consumers' attention. Ding Shijie said that the company has completed the construction of the livestock and poultry stem cell seed library of meat, and has initially completed the research and development of low -cost non -serum medium, and is striving to further reduce the cost of medium. "In comparison, the cost of animal serum is significantly higher, and it is really difficult to produce mass production. The cost of cultivating meat without serum will be greatly reduced. According to theoretical calculations, about 1,000 stem cells 1 gram of meat, 1,000 1,000 pieces The growth and differentiation of stem cells can produce 20,000 kilograms of cultivation of meat. "Ding Shijie said that in the early days of listing, the price of cells cultivated meat will be about hundreds of yuan per kilogram. With the development of biotechnology and the improvement of production efficiency, prices will gradually decrease. "Agricultural production of animal husbandry is affected by factors such as carbon taxes and resources, and the cost may increase. When the cost of cultivating meat is reduced, it will balance the price of breeding meat, giving consumers a choice of meat protein."

Xinhua Daily · Jiaojiao Reporter Zhang Shizhi Chang Yuzhong

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