3D printing artificial meat, Mooji Meats enterprise takes a step ahead

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At present, artificial meat is now very common in the catering industry. Catering giants such as Burger King, KFC, and McDonald's have successively introduced artificial meat into restaurants. However, for the current artificial meat market, limited production capacity is still one of the biggest challenges. one.

For a long time, 3D printing technology has been regarded as an important technology that may solve this problem- 3D printing can not only improve the mass production efficiency of artificial meat, but in the future, people can even print artificial meat at home.

The process of 3D printing artificial meat is actually similar to general 3D printing. First, an artificial meat 3D printer is required, and then a "bio-ink" composed of a certain type of artificial meat material, whether it is synthesized from plant protein or cultivated from animal cells The artificial meat can be printed out.

Recently, American startup Mooji Meats announced that they are developing 3D printing technology for making plant-based meat . Mooji's technology is designed to mimic whole cuts of meat, and the company notes that 70% of the meat market is centered around whole cuts -- a stark contrast to what other alternative meats have to offer.

Specifically, using technology developed at Harvard's SEAS, the company is working to produce a system that can perform the process quickly, cheaply, and at scale . Specifically, the company cites the use of a new printing technology (developed by the aforementioned Harvard team) that can print using hundreds of nozzles simultaneously, while many existing technologies use just one.

Insa Mohr, CEO of Mooji, said "one-third of the funds will be used to expand our laboratory". "We still need more equipment. One-third will be used for recruitment. We hired seven engineers, They are a combination of food scientists and engineers, including 3D printing engineers. And the other third goes to traditional overhead.”

Mooji believes this will free up the company's ability to print at scales that rival more traditional technologies. However, this is still fairly early stage, and the company plans to develop the first prototype within the next six months. Meanwhile, it hopes to bring its printers to market within the next year and a half.

From a longer-term perspective of 3D printing artificial meat , on the one hand, as the global population continues to grow, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that the global demand for meat in 2050 will increase by 70% compared to now. Based on this, the rise of alternative meat is seen as an important step in overturning the traditional animal husbandry industry, combating the increasingly serious global warming problem, avoiding animal slaughter, and avoiding the health risks of long-term human consumption of raised animals.

On the other hand, 3D food printing can reduce waste by using only the required amount of ingredients to make food. 3D food printing can freely change the texture and combination of food, and it can be used in the diet of elderly patients or other patients with dysphagia to increase their food choices and improve eating conditions.

It is inevitable that 3D printing will move towards artificial meat and the future of artificial food. The more companies take this step, the faster this trend will become reality.